Heavy rain brought flooding to the northeast sections beginning 5/26/16.
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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.
Heavy rain brought flooding to the northeast sections beginning 5/26/16.
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 May 26, 2:32 AM CST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Little Rock AR 332 AM CDT THU MAY 26 2016 .SHORT TERM...Today Through Friday Night On the whole, the synoptic setup is pretty similar to yesterday. Several weak upper level systems will move through and interact with moisture and daytime heating and allow for scattered showers and thunderstorms. By this afternoon and evening, a more potent upper level system will move up into the region from the southwest, with showers and thunderstorms becoming likely. This will continue into Friday and Friday night, with several more waves of showers and thunderstorms likely as more systems move up across the region in the mean flow. It'll continue to be humid the next couple of days, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s in the daytime and mostly in the 60s at night. Isolated strong to severe storms will be possible in the short term periods, primarily this afternoon and on Friday, with marginally severe hail and damaging winds the primary concern. Also, any stronger storm would be capable of producing heavy rainfall, and this would be enough to cause localized flash flooding issues. However, widespread or organized severe weather is not anticipated at this time, as it does not appear that there will be widespread surface-based destabilization, and there is an over all lack of a synoptic scale forcing mechanism. Through Friday night, the heaviest rain is expected across the western portion of the area, where one to three inch amounts will be possible. && .LONG TERM...Saturday Through Wednesday Chances for SHRA/TSRA will continue through most of the long term period as an unsettled pattern will remain over the region through the holiday weekend. However...the best chances for organized convection will be early in the period on Sat as an upper level shortwave trough lifts NE over the plains...with a weak trough axis lifting NE over the region. Plenty of moisture will remain in place given the continued SW flow aloft and SRLY SFC flow late this week into early this weekend. Have only mentioned chance POPs for Sat due primarily to no significant synoptic scale forcing mechanisms moving over the state...just a gradual weak upper trough axis. However...given the high levels of moisture...and fairly high instability...should see some scattered to numerous SHRA/TSRA activity Sat afternoon. Wouldn't be surprised if some storms became SVR...but widespread and organized SVR WX doesn't look likely at this time. By late this weekend into the middle of next week...the upper flow will relax over the region...with generally zonal to partially SW flow moving over the SRN Plains. Given this setup...think the trend in convective potential will become more diurnally driven...with highest POPs during the peak heating of each afternoon. If organized convective activity were to develop...it would likely be result of mesoscale features difficult to pinpoint this far out in the forecast. As a result...have chance POPs during the afternoon hrs...then slight chance POPs during the overnight timeframe Sun through Wed. As for temperatures...will continue with near or just above normal conditions for much of the period...along with high humidity levels expected. However...will have the coolest temps forecast for Sat as more cloud cover and precip coverage is expected. Otherwise...expect 70s and 80s for highs over most areas...though some low 90s may be possible over the SRN sections of the CWA. Lows will be in the 60s and 70s. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Batesville AR 83 68 78 66 / 30 60 70 50 Camden AR 86 70 81 68 / 40 60 70 60 Harrison AR 81 65 74 64 / 30 60 70 60 Hot Springs AR 81 69 78 67 / 40 70 70 60 Little Rock AR 84 69 81 67 / 40 70 70 50 Monticello AR 86 71 82 68 / 30 60 50 50 Mount Ida AR 81 69 76 67 / 40 70 80 60 Mountain Home AR 83 66 75 65 / 30 60 70 60 Newport AR 85 69 80 68 / 30 60 60 50 Pine Bluff AR 84 70 81 68 / 30 60 60 50 Russellville AR 83 68 77 67 / 40 70 70 50 Searcy AR 84 68 79 67 / 40 70 70 50 Stuttgart AR 85 70 82 68 / 40 60 60 50 && .LZK Watches/Warnings/Advisories...NONE. && Short Term...57 / Long Term...62
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 414 AM CDT THU MAY 26 2016 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-271000- 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- 414 AM CDT THU MAY 26 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME LIKELY BY TONIGHT...AS AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES UP FROM THE SOUTHWEST. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...WITH MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY CONCERN. ALSO...ANY STRONGER STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL...WHICH COULD LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING CONCERNS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON FRIDAY. AGAIN...SOME STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL AGAIN BE A CONCERN WITH ANY STRONGER STORMS AS WELL. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR SATURDAY...SOME OF WHICH COULD BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE. EXPECT LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. HOWEVER...THE THREAT FOR WIDESPREAD AND ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER WILL REMAIN SOMEWHAT LOW FOR SATURDAY AS THE MAIN ENERGY WITH THE STORM SYSTEM MOVES NORTH OF THE REGION. BEYOND SATURDAY...CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST EACH DAY. HOWEVER...EXPECT MORE ISOLATED ACTIVITY...AND WITH BEST CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. ORGANIZED AND WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED SUNDAY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...SOME ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS COULD BE SEEN...AS WELL AS SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED AT THIS TIME...DUE TO THE LIMITED NATURE OF THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LZK. 57/62
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain brought flooding to the White River at Augusta.
Heavy rain brought flooding to the Cache River at Patterson.
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, May 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: 639225, 639226.