Many rivers across the area continued to flood from heavy rainfall in December. In fact, some rivers remained above flood stage since November.
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.
Many rivers across the area continued to flood from heavy rainfall in December. In fact, some rivers remained above flood stage since November. Some of these same rivers remained above flood stage through all of January, continuing into February.
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 Dec 31, 11:18 PM CST, 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1118 PM CST THU DEC 31 2015 .AVIATION... HIGH CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONGIHT WITH HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE AREA. AS THE HIGH BUILDS OVER THE AREA FRIDAY...EXPECT CLOUDS TO THIN AND DISSIPATE. CLEAR SKIES ARE EXPECTED BY LATE MORNING. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 524 PM CST THU DEC 31 2015/ AVIATION... HIGH PRESSURE IS OVER THE AREA. HIGH CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE PERIOD. EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE PERIOD. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 152 PM CST THU DEC 31 2015/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WERE SEEN AROUND THE NATURAL STATE THIS MORNING...HOWEVER CLOUDS INCREASED DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. WITH NORTHERLY WINDS IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION...AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM THE UPPER 30S IN THE NORTH TO LOWER 50S IN THE SOUTHEAST. MOISTURE AT THE MID LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS RESULTING IN ONLY AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS AND NOT ANY PRECIPITATION AS FAIRLY DRIER AIR REMAINS AT THE LOWER LEVELS. THAT SAID...BOTH THE GFS AND THE HRRR ARE HINTING AT SOME PRECIPITATION ACROSS SW ARKANSAS DURING THE OVERNIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS ON FRIDAY...HOWEVER CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW AT THIS POINT TO ADD POPS TO THE FORECAST. BEYOND TONIGHT...HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NW OF THE STATE WILL GRADUALLY SLIDE SE TOWARDS ARKANSAS AND KEEP DRY WEATHER IN THE FORECAST. ALOFT AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTH OF THE STATE ON FRIDAY WITH NO MAJOR EFFECTS FELT IN ARKANSAS. TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE SHORT TERM WILL SEE NEAR NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES...WITH AT OR BELOW NORMAL READINGS FOR THE OVERNIGHT LOWS. LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE THE DOMINANT WEATHER FEATURE...WITH NO RAINFALL...AND COOLER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. BY WEDNESDAY...THE HIGH WILL SHIFT EASTWARD...AS NORTHWESTERLY UPPER FLOW GRADUALLY SHIFTS TO THE SOUTHWEST. THIS WILL BRING A STORM SYSTEM INTO THE REGION...WITH RAIN CHANCES INCREASING FROM THE SOUTHWEST. TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY MODERATE THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 28 45 28 50 / 0 0 0 0 CAMDEN AR 33 48 28 50 / 10 10 0 0 HARRISON AR 24 42 27 48 / 0 0 0 0 HOT SPRINGS AR 32 49 28 50 / 10 10 0 0 LITTLE ROCK AR 32 48 28 50 / 0 0 0 0 MONTICELLO AR 35 47 30 50 / 10 10 0 0 MOUNT IDA AR 29 47 24 50 / 0 0 0 0 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 26 44 27 49 / 0 0 0 0 NEWPORT AR 29 45 28 49 / 0 0 0 0 PINE BLUFF AR 34 46 29 48 / 10 10 0 0 RUSSELLVILLE AR 29 47 27 51 / 0 0 0 0 SEARCY AR 29 46 25 48 / 0 0 0 0 STUTTGART AR 33 46 27 48 / 10 0 0 0 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && AVIATION...56
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CST THU DEC 31 2015 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-011100- BOONE-MARION-BAXTER-FULTON-SHARP-NEWTON-SEARCY-STONE-IZARD- INDEPENDENCE-JOHNSON-POPE-VAN BUREN-CLEBURNE-JACKSON-LOGAN-CONWAY- FAULKNER-WHITE-WOODRUFF-SCOTT-YELL-PERRY-POLK-MONTGOMERY-GARLAND- SALINE-PULASKI-LONOKE-PRAIRIE-MONROE-PIKE-CLARK-HOT SPRING-GRANT- JEFFERSON-ARKANSAS-DALLAS-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-DESHA-OUACHITA-CALHOUN- BRADLEY-DREW- 500 AM CST WED DEC 31 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT FLOODING CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR CONCERN AT THIS TIME AS MANY ROADS AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS REMAIN CLOSED. THIS IS ESPECIALLY THE CASE IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN ARKANSAS WHERE FIVE TO MORE THAN EIGHT INCHES OF RAIN FELL THE LAST FEW DAYS. RIVER FLOODING WILL ALSO BE A PROBLEM. MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING HAS ALREADY OCCURRED OR IS EXPECTED ALONG MOST RIVER SYSTEMS INCLUDING THEIR TRIBUTARIES. THIS INCLUDES THE ARKANSAS...BLACK... BUFFALO...CACHE...ELEVEN POINT...FOURCHE LAFAVE...PETIT JEAN...AND WHITE RIVERS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE LARGER TRIBUTARIES...WITH WATER RECEDING ON SMALLER RIVERS AND STREAMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 56
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Fourche LaFave River at Houston remained above flood stage from December, and finally fell below flood stage during the early evening hours on the 17th.
The Arkansas River at Dardanelle remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the afternoon hours on the 3rd.
The Arkansas River at Morrilton remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the morning hours on the 6th.
The Arkansas River at Toad Suck L&D remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the afternoon hours on the 5th.
The Arkansas River at Little Rock remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the morning hours on the 4th.
The Arkansas River at Pine Bluff remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the morning hours on the 6th.
The Arkansas River at Pendleton remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the morning hours on the 6th.
The Ouachita River at Camden remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the morning hours on the 17th.
The Little Red River at Judsonia remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the afternoon hours on the 17th.
The Cache River at Patterson remained above flood stage from November, and fell below flood stage during the morning hours on the 26th.
The White River at Newport remained above flood stage from December, and fell below flood stage during the evening hours on the 9th.
The White River at Newport remained above flood stage from November, and continued in flood stage into February.
The White River at Georgetown remained above flood stage from December, and continued in flood stage into February.
The White River at Des Arc remained above flood stage from December, and continued in flood stage into February.
The White River at Clarendon remained above flood stage from November, and continued in flood stage into February.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, January 2016
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: 616410, 616411, 616412, 616413, 616414, 616415, 616416, 616417, 616418, 616419, 616430, 616434, 616435, 616436, 616437.