Several days of heavy rainfall, totaling 3 to 5 inches altogether, fell over the White and Cache Rivers in eastern Arkansas. This led to minor flooding at several locations along the rivers.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS LZK wrote it up.
Several days of heavy rainfall, totaling 3 to 5 inches altogether, fell over the White and Cache Rivers in eastern Arkansas. This led to minor flooding at several locations along the rivers.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 9, 2:55 PM CST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 255 PM CST FRI MAR 9 2012 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT QUIET DAY AS HIGH PRESSURE PUSHED FRONT ALL THE WAY TO THE GULF...AND DRIER AIR MOVED INTO THE STATE. CLOUDS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN INCREASING FROM THE SOUTHWEST...AS THE NEXT RAINFALL PRODUCER REMAINS OVER EAST TEXAS. BUT FIRST...DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT INTO THE FIRST PART OF SATURDAY...AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES SOUTHEAST AND NORTHEAST WINDS BRING DRIER AIR INTO THE STATE. CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE WEST AND SOUTH...BUT MUCH OF THE AREA WILL REMAIN RAIN FREE DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS SATURDAY. AS THE FRONT ALONG THE GULF MOVES BACK NORTH...IT WILL INTERACT WITH THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM STILL OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL TO THE STATE. RAINFALL AMOUNTS THIS WEEKEND WILL RANGE FROM ONE TO TWO INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS. AS WITH THE RAINFALL THAT MOVED THROUGH THURSDAY...THIS RAINFALL WILL BE OVER SEVERAL HOURS...AND WITH THE RELATIVELY DRY GROUND AND VEGETATION STARTING TO EMERGE...FLOODING ISSUES SHOULD BE MINOR...ESPECIALLY WITH THE TWO DAY BREAK BETWEEN RAINFALL EVENTS. THE FRONT WILL FINALLY MOVE THROUGH THE STATE MONDAY...WITH RAINFALL OUT OF THE AREA BY LUNCHTIME. DRY WEATHER AND WARMING TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE FORECAST FOR MONDAY. && .LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY LOOKS LIKE AN UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD. WILL NOT BE A WASHOUT...BUT A PERSISTENT SOUTHWEST WIND FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING SMALL RIPPLES OF ENERGY INTO THE REGION FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH MOISTURE IN PLACE FOR AT LEAST SMALL CHANCES FOR SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY. IT COULD GET MORE INTERESTING TOWARD THE END OF THE PERIOD...AND NEXT WEEKEND AS THE MAIN SYSTEM ALOFT EJECTS TOWARD ARKANSAS. THIS IS STILL WELL INTO THE FUTURE...BUT THERE IS A LOT OF ENERGY SITTING TO THE SOUTHWEST THAT WILL HAVE TO COME OUT SOMETIME. AT THE VERY LEAST...PRECIPITATION SHOULD BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD. AS FAR AS TEMPERATURES...WELL ABOVE NORMAL READINGS ARE IN THE FORECAST. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...58 / LONG TERM...46
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CST FRI MAR 9 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-101100- ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND- CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING- INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE- MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE- PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE- WOODRUFF-YELL- 500 AM CST FRI MAR 9 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT DRY CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AFTER A LULL IN THE PRECIPITATION TODAY THROUGH MUCH OF SATURDAY... RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL RETURN SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. THOUGH AREAS OF FLOODING OR FLASH FLOODING COULD DEVELOP... RECENT MODEL TRENDS HAVE BEEN TO REDUCE EXPECTED PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS AND FLOODING IS APPEARING TO BE LESS OF A CONCERN THIS WEEKEND. THIS SITUATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE MONITORED AND ARKANSANS ARE ADVISED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO UPDATED FORECASTS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 63
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain caused the Cache River at Patterson to rise above flood stage through most of March.
Heavy rainfall in early March pushed the White River at Augusta above flood stage through the end of march. Dam releases from upstream aided in keeping the river above flood stage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, March 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 365039, 365040.