A heavy rain event across southeast Arkansas, which some heavy rain just days prior, caused flooding in Drew County.
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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.
A heavy rain event across southeast Arkansas, which some heavy rain just days prior, caused flooding in Drew County.
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 12, 5:25 PM CST, 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 525 PM CST SAT MAR 12 2016 .AVIATION... FORECASTS WILL REFLECT CURRENT PRECIPITATION SHIELD...TO AFFECT SOUTHERN AND EASTERN AREAS THROUGH 04Z. LIFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL 06-13Z. 55 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 241 PM CST SAT MAR 12 2016/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT WELL...AFTER A BIT OF A DELAYED START...RAIN IS DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHERN AND EASTERN ARKANSAS AS A WARM FRONT ADVANCES INTO THE DELTA REGION...AND THE UPPER LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WET WEATHER THIS WEEK IS MOVING INTO SOUTHERN ARKANSAS. THE PRECIPITATION WILL HAVE A BRIEF PERIOD OF BEING FAIRLY WIDESPREAD THIS EVENING...BEFORE THE UPPER LOW LIFTS THROUGH THE REGION AND TRANSITIONS TO AN OPEN WAVE. AFTER MIDNIGHT...MAIN AREA OF RAIN WILL MOVE UP INTO THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY...WITH MOST AREAS SEEING A RESPITE...AT LEAST UNTIL SUNDAY AFTERNOON. STILL NOT EXPECTING OVERLY HEAVY RAINFALL FROM THE SYSTEM TONIGHT...BUT ONE TO TWO INCHES IN THE SOUTHEAST WILL BE FALLING AS STRAIGHT RUNOFF...AND WILL PROLONG ANY HIGH WATER ISSUES. SO...WITH THIS IN MIND...HAVE EXTENDED THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT. AFTER LATE TONIGHT...FOCUS WILL THEN SHIFT TO THE COLD FRONT... SURFACE LOW AND CLOSED UPPER LOW MOVING ACROSS ARKANSAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. WITH THE WARM FRONT PAST THE REGION... TEMPERATURES ON SUNDAY WILL HAVE NO TROUBLE WARMING INTO THE 70S AREAWIDE. THE WARMER TEMPS...HIGHER DEWPOINTS...AND INCREASING INSTABILITY AHEAD OF THE FRONT SHOULD OFFER LITTLE IF ANY HINDRANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN A CONCERN. WITH THE COLD AIR ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW...LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERN WITH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THERE WILL BE A TORNADO THREAT AS WELL...GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF DIRECTIONAL SHEAR IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. THE MOST LIKELY WAY FOR THINGS TO EVOLVE WOULD BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CELLS OUT AHEAD OF THE LINE DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. THE TORNADO THREAT WILL BE GREATEST WITH THESE CELLS. AFTER SUNSET...THE TORNADO THREAT WILL WANE...WITH THE SYSTEM EVOLVING INTO MORE OF A WIND/HAIL EVENT. THE FRONT WILL CLEAR THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT MONDAY MORNING. DRIER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION...AND WITH WINDS COMING BACK AROUND TO THE SOUTHWEST ON MONDAY AFTERNOON...TEMPERATURES WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM WARMING INTO THE 70S. LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AN UPPER RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER ARKANSAS MONDAY NIGHT WITH AN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS. THE PARENT LOW WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES AREA TUESDAY NIGHT AND STALL THROUGH FRIDAY BEFORE MOVING OFF TO THE EAST SATURDAY. AN UPPER RIDGE MOVES ONTO THE WEST COAST THURSDAY AND WILL REMAIN THERE THROUGH SATURDAY. TUESDAY WILL BE WARM AND DRY WITH TEMPERATURES WELL ABOVE NORMAL IN THE 70S AND 80S. A COOLING TREND WILL BEGIN WEDNESDAY AFTER A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE STATE DRY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS WILL RETURN THURSDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES NORTHEAST OUT OF TEXAS. FIRE WEATHER... NO SIGNIFICANT FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. DRY WEATHER WILL RETURN TO THE FORECAST ON MONDAY...WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING INTO THE 70S TO NEAR 80. COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN BY WEDNESDAY AFTER ANOTHER COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE AREA. HUMIDITY ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY WILL BOTTOM OUT IN THE 30TH PERCENTILE...BUT WINDS SHOULD REMAIN BELOW CRITICAL THRESHOLDS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 65 54 71 54 / 60 80 60 60 CAMDEN AR 68 54 76 53 / 70 40 40 30 HARRISON AR 63 51 68 50 / 40 50 60 40 HOT SPRINGS AR 66 53 72 52 / 60 50 60 30 LITTLE ROCK AR 67 54 73 54 / 70 70 60 50 MONTICELLO AR 69 56 74 56 / 80 60 40 50 MOUNT IDA AR 66 52 71 52 / 60 40 60 30 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 63 52 71 52 / 40 60 60 50 NEWPORT AR 66 54 71 53 / 60 80 60 70 PINE BLUFF AR 68 55 73 54 / 80 70 50 50 RUSSELLVILLE AR 68 53 71 51 / 50 50 60 40 SEARCY AR 67 53 72 53 / 70 80 60 60 STUTTGART AR 68 55 72 55 / 80 80 60 60 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR ARKANSAS- BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLEVELAND-DESHA-DREW-JEFFERSON-LINCOLN-MONROE- OUACHITA. && AVIATION...99
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 530 PM CST SAT MAR 12 2016 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-131100- 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- 530 PM CST SAT MAR 12 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT RAIN...SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT MUCH OF ARKANSAS SATURDAY EVENING AND TONIGHT. THE UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL GRADUALLY MOVE THROUGH THE REGION...AND SPREAD THE RAIN TO ARKANSAS. THE HEAVIEST RAIN AND HIGHEST AMOUNTS WILL BE OVER SOUTHERN ARKANSAS. DUE TO THE OVERALL HEAVY RAIN THAT HAS FALLEN...FLASH FLOODING AND RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE IN SOME LOCALS. THE THREAT OF ANY STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL BE QUITE LOW. LATER TONIGHT...THE UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST OF THE REGION...SIGNIFICANTLY LOWERING THE CHANCE OF RAIN. AREAS OF DENSE FOG WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY MORNING OVER PARTS OF ARKANSAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL PASS OVER ARKANSAS DURING THE DAY SUNDAY. SOME STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED. LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERN...BUT DAMAGING WINDS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THE HIGHEST LIKELIHOOD OF STRONG OR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WOULD BE IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. DRY WEATHER IS THEN EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH MUCH OF THE COMING WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...BUT REPORTS OF ADDITIONAL FLOODING ARE REQUESTED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 59
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 173 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:00 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency management reported that the crossing on highway 165 was washed out.
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, March 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: 626650.