Later in the month, the focus shifted from ice to areas of heavy rain and some severe weather. A front wobbled across the region from the 20th through the 23rd, and a storm system roared through the middle of the country on the 24th.
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.
Later in the month, the focus shifted from ice to areas of heavy rain and some severe weather. A front wobbled across the region from the 20th through the 23rd, and a storm system roared through the middle of the country on the 24th. Forecast models showed there was at least twice the usual moisture for late February. Given a tremendous amount of liquid to wring out of the clouds, and with downpours lasting for several days, flash flooding and eventual river flooding became headlines. Through 600 am CST on the 25th, four to more than ten inches of water was measured in a five day period. At many locations, this was two months of rain in just a few days. Amounts included 10.55 inches at Mount Ida (Montgomery County), 9.82 inches at Hot Springs (Garland County), and 8.83 inches at Little Rock (Pulaski 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 Feb 20, 8:00 PM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...Update National Weather Service Little Rock AR 800 PM CST Tue Feb 20 2018 .Discussion... Overall forecast on track. The cold front continues to sag southeast over AR, and as upper lift and a moisture surge into AR, an area of rain, heavy at times, and isolated thunder is moving across AR this evening. This area will hold together and continue east, producing rain, heavy at times, as it moves east. Have seen half inch to over an inch of rain, with a few isolated spots higher, with this area. Main threat will be heavy rain with localized flooding in low lying areas. Forecast will hold a high chance of rain through the evening and into the overnight, with another half to over an one inch expected. Some locations will see high amounts. Short range models show additional lift moving over AR tonight, and hence the high POP forecast. Otherwise, temperatures will be lowering over northern AR to the 40s to 30s, with a low risk of mixed winter precip late tonight to early Wednesday, all rain elsewhere. Lows central and south will be 40s to 50s, while 60s south. Flood watch remains in effect for all of AR. (59) && .Prev Discussion.../ Issued 545 PM CST Tue Feb 20 2018/ .Aviation... Areas of MVFR with patchy IFR with rain and isolated thunderstorms with some fog will be seen to start to the forecast over west to northwest AR. Over central and southern areas, mainly MVFR to VFR ceilings with fog will be seen with isolated lighter rain and showers. A cold front will slowly sag southeast tonight to Wednesday, developing the rain, heavy at times, and isolated thunderstorms. Ceilings will also gradually lower near the front and become mainly MVFR with more areas of IFR. Winds ahead of the front will be south at 10 to 20 mph with some gusts, then switch to the northwest to north at 5 to 15 mph with some gusts Tuesday night to Wednesday. The lower ceilings and chances of rain will continue on Wednesday with the front slowing. (59) && .Prev Discussion.../ 247 PM CST Tue Feb 20 2018 .SHORT TERM...Tonight Through Saturday At the surface, a cold front was located over southwest Missouri, extending into far northwest Arkansas to just west of Fort Smith. In the upper levels, a ridge was located near the eastern CONUS, while a trough was over the west. The ridge will shift slightly over the next 24 hours, which will allow the front to move ever so slowly across the state. Rainfall will become fairly widespread tonight, with scattered thunderstorms possible, and this will continue into Wednesday night/early Thursday. The highly amplified flow remains out of the southwest, which is giving us a healthy dose of Pacific moisture as the polar and subtropical jets converge. Ahead of the surface front, some pretty serious moisture advection is going on, with dewpoints in the 60s. Several impulses will move through in the mean flow and interact with the front. The result will be a continued chance for rainfall through the short term periods. With the overabundance of moisture, and the tendency of storms to form and move over the same areas, heavy rain will be a concern. We are continuing the original Flood Watch, and expanding it to include our remaining counties in the southeast. That portion will begin at 12Z Wednesday and go through 18Z Thursday. At this time, it looks as though the heaviest rainfall will be tonight into early Thursday, with two to five inches possible. Through Saturday, though, most areas look set to receive five to seven inches of rain, with the highest totals in the vicinity of the Interstate 30 corridor where there could be localized heavier amounts. One more thing...with the front advancing into Arkansas later tonight and early Wednesday morning, temperatures could fall to near freezing in the northwest, albeit briefly. So, when you look at the forecast, don't scratch or shake your head in disbelief when you see a mention of brief freezing rain in portions of the Ozarks late tonight or early Wednesday. As I said, it's going to be brief. With warm ground and surfaces, no impacts are expected. The initial heavy rain episode will wind down a little bit on Thursday, as the front sinks south of the state. However, the boundary will move back to the north a bit late Thursday into Friday, with more systems moving through and interacting with it. This will keep rain chances in the forecast, with additional heavy rain possible, especially in the north and west Thursday night into Friday night. On Saturday, the front will move even further north, with low pressure dragging a stronger front into the region. This particular day will need to be watched, as parameters are lining up for potentially strong storms. A limiting factor will be cloud cover, and timing of the system. More for another day and another forecast discussion I suppose. && .LONG TERM...Saturday Night Through Tuesday By Sunday, an upper trough will be ejecting out of the plains and moving to the northeast. This will eventually end our rain period. Southwest flow will continue over Arkansas. With an upper ridge to the southeast, the southwest flow will continue over the state through Tuesday. The cold front will exit southeast Arkansas Saturday night. High pressure and drier air will move into the area Sunday behind the front. Dry conditions are expected for Sunday and Monday. Models indicate rain chances increase Tuesday as a short wave moves through the area. Near to slightly above normal temperatures are expected through the period. && .FIRE WEATHER... No significant fire weather issues are expected through the next seven days. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Batesville AR 44 45 38 52 / 100 100 90 40 Camden AR 59 62 47 58 / 100 100 100 60 Harrison AR 33 35 34 50 / 100 60 50 40 Hot Springs AR 52 54 43 54 / 100 100 90 50 Little Rock AR 52 53 43 53 / 100 100 100 50 Monticello AR 61 63 48 60 / 60 100 100 80 Mount Ida AR 47 49 43 55 / 100 100 90 50 Mountain Home AR 36 37 34 51 / 100 70 70 40 Newport AR 46 48 39 52 / 100 100 100 40 Pine Bluff AR 55 58 45 56 / 90 100 100 70 Russellville AR 46 47 41 53 / 100 90 80 40 Searcy AR 48 50 41 52 / 100 100 100 50 Stuttgart AR 52 55 43 54 / 90 100 100 60 && .LZK Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Flood Watch from 6 PM CST this evening through late Wednesday night FOR Baxter-Boone-Clark-Cleburne-Conway-Dallas-Faulkner- Fulton-Garland-Grant-Hot Spring-Independence-Izard-Jackson- Johnson-Logan-Lonoke-Marion-Monroe-Montgomery-Newton-Ouachita- Perry-Pike-Polk-Pope-Prairie-Pulaski-Saline-Scott-Searcy-Sharp- Stone-Van Buren-White-Woodruff-Yell. Flood Watch from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning FOR Arkansas-Bradley-Calhoun-Cleveland-Desha-Drew-Jefferson-Lincoln. && Short Term...57 / Long Term...51
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Little Rock AR 517 PM CST Tue Feb 20 2018 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-211100- 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- 517 PM CST Tue Feb 20 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for a Large Part of Arkansas. .DAY ONE...Tonight Showers and thunderstorms will continue to slowly overspread much of Arkansas from the west tonight. With high levels of moisture in the atmosphere, and the tendency of storms to form and move over the same areas, locally heavy rainfall is a concern tonight, with flash flooding becoming possible. The main concern for flash flooding overnight will be across the northwest half of the state. Some thunderstorms this evening may briefly become strong or possibly severe. This would be most likely in areas along and west of the Interstate 30 and Highway 67 corridor. Any storm that becomes severe will be capable of producing gusty winds in excess of 60 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday Through Monday Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms will continue on Wednesday as a cold front slowly moves through. Several more inches of rain will be possible from Little Rock to the north and west through Wednesday, before the axis of heavy rainfall shifts to the southeast Wednesday night into Thursday as the cold front moves through. Rainfall amounts through Thursday will range from two to three inches across the southeast third of the state to in excess of five inches across central and northwest sections of the state. Some locally higher amounts cannot be ruled out in these areas. As a result, the threat for flash and river flooding will increase over time even with some areas across the northern and western portion of the state in a drought at this time. Additional heavy rainfall will return to the forecast by late Thursday through next weekend as the front moves back to the north. Additional rainfall amounts of two or more inches will be possible across some portion of the state. This will result in storm total rainfall amounts through the weekend of three to five inches across the far southeast portion of the state, and five to seven inches (with localized heavier amounts) across a large portion of Arkansas further north and west. As a result, the threat for widespread river and flash flooding will continue to increase throughout the week and into the weekend. The front will finally move through the state Saturday but the latest data is indicating that some severe weather could be possible before the system exits the region. .Spotter Information Statement... Due to the low severe weather threat, spotter activation is not anticipated at this time. && Visit NWS Little Rock on the web. Go to http://weather.gov/lzk. 44
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
553 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
ARZ041-042-052>054-210030-
Hot Spring AR-Pike AR-Clark AR-Garland AR-Montgomery AR-
553 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN CLARK...PIKE...
SOUTHWESTERN GARLAND...WEST CENTRAL HOT SPRING AND SOUTHERN
MONTGOMERY COUNTIES UNTIL 630 PM CST...
At 552 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from near Albert Pike Recreation Area to 7 miles
northeast of Dierks to near Center Point. Movement was east at 50
mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with these storms.
Locations impacted include...
Murfreesboro... Glenwood...
Amity... Norman...
Daisy... Daisy State Park...
Narrows Dam... Meyers...
Albert Pike Recreation Area... Black Springs...
Alpine... Bonnerdale...
Langley... Lodi...
Point Cedar... Nathan...
Fancyhill... Kirby...
Bear Creek Public Use Area... Salem in Pike County...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 3438 9393 3461 9338 3434 9330 3409 9333
3407 9382 3418 9382 3419 9393 3426 9392
3426 9394
TIME...MOT...LOC 2352Z 250DEG 42KT 3433 9395 3417 9390 3407 9396
44Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
617 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
ARZ038-039-041-042-052>054-210100-
Hot Spring AR-Pike AR-Perry AR-Clark AR-Yell AR-Garland AR-
Montgomery AR-
617 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN CLARK...SOUTHWESTERN
PERRY...NORTHEASTERN PIKE...GARLAND...SOUTHWESTERN YELL...WEST
CENTRAL HOT SPRING AND EASTERN MONTGOMERY COUNTIES UNTIL 700 PM
CST...
At 616 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from near Oden to near Mount Ida to near Glenwood to
near Narrows Dam. Movement was northeast at 50 mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with these storms.
Locations impacted include...
Hot Springs Village... Mount Ida...
Glenwood... Mountain Pine...
Amity... Plainview in Yell County...
Jessieville... Meyers...
Lake Ouachita State Park... Lofton...
Mauldin... Piney in Garland County...
Rockwell... Avant...
Wing... Bonnerdale...
Kingston... Mt Tabor...
Sunshine... Fannie...
LAT...LON 3507 9332 3482 9307 3477 9307 3477 9304
3459 9308 3433 9321 3418 9372 3432 9363
3449 9362 3467 9379
TIME...MOT...LOC 0016Z 235DEG 41KT 3468 9374 3449 9359 3429 9362 3414
9375
64Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
711 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
ARZ022-031-032-038-039-042>044-210200-
Pulaski AR-Pope AR-Perry AR-Saline AR-Yell AR-Faulkner AR-Conway AR-
Garland AR-
711 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR PERRY...CONWAY...WESTERN
FAULKNER...EASTERN GARLAND...NORTHWESTERN SALINE...EAST CENTRAL
YELL...NORTHWESTERN PULASKI AND SOUTHEASTERN POPE COUNTIES UNTIL 800
PM CST...
At 711 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from 6 miles southwest of Petit Jean State Park to 9
miles west of Williams Junction to near Hot Springs Village to Hot
Springs National Park. Movement was northeast at 50 mph.
Wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with these storms.
Locations impacted include...
Conway... Hot Springs...
Hot Springs Village... Morrilton...
Perryville... Mayflower...
Wooster... Oppelo...
Menifee... Perry...
Adona... Houston...
Bethlehem... Sequoya Park...
Hill Creek... Little Italy...
Roland in Pulaski County... Rockwell...
Toad Suck... Piney in Garland County...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 3543 9256 3517 9242 3503 9241 3469 9253
3444 9317 3466 9304 3481 9301 3507 9312
TIME...MOT...LOC 0111Z 237DEG 42KT 3505 9302 3485 9294 3470 9297 3455
9306
44Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
837 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
ARZ007-014>016-024-025-032-033-044>046-210315-
Pulaski AR-White AR-Stone AR-Independence AR-Lonoke AR-Sharp AR-
Prairie AR-Izard AR-Faulkner AR-Jackson AR-Cleburne AR-
837 PM CST TUE FEB 20 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN STONE...
INDEPENDENCE...NORTHWESTERN PRAIRIE...SOUTHEASTERN IZARD...
SOUTHWESTERN JACKSON...CLEBURNE...NORTHWESTERN LONOKE...EAST CENTRAL
FAULKNER...WHITE...SOUTHWESTERN SHARP AND NORTHERN PULASKI COUNTIES
UNTIL 915 PM CST...
At 837 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from near Mountain View to 6 miles north of Heber
Springs to Rose Bud to near Olmstead. Movement was east at 40 mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with these storms.
Locations impacted include...
Cabot... Searcy...
Batesville... Heber Springs...
Mountain View... Beebe...
Ward... Vilonia...
Bald Knob... Austin in Lonoke County...
Judsonia... Kensett...
Higginson... Pangburn...
Rose Bud... Cushman...
Mount Pleasant... Pleasant Plains...
Concord... Magness...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3609 9165 3571 9148 3543 9149 3502 9165
3497 9226 3529 9213 3556 9211 3590 9225
TIME...MOT...LOC 0237Z 256DEG 37KT 3585 9215 3558 9204 3531 9206 3501
9218
44The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 142 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:21 UTC.
31 flood, 13 flash flood, 4 heavy rain, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Several outbuildings were damaged. Some of the trees were blown down. The damage was consistent with straight-line winds of 60-80 mph.
Chicken house roofs were damaged and removed. Outbuildings were damaged. The damage was consistent with straight-line winds in excess of 70 mph.
Remmel dam flow rate was over 33,000 CFS.
Water was running over Smith Road.
Multiple roads were flooded throughout White County, some with water damage.
Multiple roads in and around Conway are barricaded due to flash flooding.
Springfield and Mallet town roads were closed due to flooding.
Multiple roads are flooded with water running over them in Searcy County.
Students were rescued from a school bus that drove off a flooded road.
Heavy rain brought 5 inches of rain as of 9 am to West Little Rock behind the Kroger on Chenal.
Remmel dam flow rate was over 45,000 CFS.
Rainfall was measured at 8.06 inches.
Since 7 pm 2/20/18, 4.60 inches fell on Carpenter Dam Road at Hot Springs.
Water was over the road near Glenwood, over a low water crossing bridge.
Storm spotter reports water from Hurricane Creek is covering Sardis Road near Bauxite.
West Main Street near Oneida in Jacksonville began to flood.
Water was over Sandy Ford Road off of El Pas Road.
Peters Road Southwest of Cabot is mostly underwater.
Multiple roads are flooded in Garland County.
Flooded roadways in portions of the county have prompted Pulaski County Special School District to close for tomorrow February 22nd.
Boone County 911 in Harrison has reported drizzle freezing onto elevated surfaces such as benches and plants.
Water was covering Rose Hill Road.
All lanes of highway 49 north of Brinkley were temporarily blocked due to high water.
All lanes of highway 70 at highway 161 were temporarily blocked due to high water.
State Highway 226 was closed south of Swifton due to high water on the road.
Several roads in the county had high water over them.
This was storm total rainfall for 30 hours ending at midnight on 2/22/18...5.16 inches.
Arkansas DOT reports 12 miles of Highway 278 blocked due to high water.
Arkansas State Police Troop F reported all lanes of Highway 160 east of Hermitage are blocked due to flooding.
Arkansas DOT reported Highway 146 from MM 0.30 to MM 3.30 was blocked due to high water.
Arkansas DOT reported Highway 159 from MM 0.38 to MM 2.5 was blocked due to high water.
Arkansas DOT reported all lanes of Highway 7 near Ouachita 31 were blocked due to flooding.
Street flooding was reported in several areas.
Highway 294 at Kinfolks Road was reported flooded.
Water was over State Highway 319 between highways 5 and 107.
All lanes of Highway 46 N at the 14000 block in Redfield are blocked due to high water.
Hilltop Road at Springhill Road was closed due to flash flooding.
Four homes in the Floyd-Romance Community off Highway 31 and Gravel Hill Road are being evacuated. Lake Barnett has risen and has endangered homes in the area.
Arkansas State Police reported Highway 84 near McCann Drive and Deer Creek Road was blocked due to high water.
Highway 46 S at Jenkins Ferry State Park was blocked due to high water.
Arkansas State Police Troop K reported Highway 46 N near Stagecoach Road blocked due to high water.
Arkansas DOT reported State Highway 53 south of Hollywood blocked due to high water.
Water was over bridges on Manford Road and Mill Creek Road in Caddo Gap.
Arkansas DOT reported State Highway 18 at Newport blocked due to high water.
Arkansas DOT reported Highway 7 from Log Mile 0 to Log Mile 7 blocked due to high water.
Water was in outbuildings and near houses on Lakeview Circle, Shoreline Road, and Lawrence Landing Adjacent to Lake Conway. Sandbagging is still in progress.
A house is isolated by water with two people inside the house.
Highway 7 in Ouachita County is closed from Highway 79B and continuing north into Dallas County.
Arkansas DOT reported Highway 300 at Log Mile 2.5 blocked due to high water.
Leopard and Bridge Creeks were out of their banks. Water was near the road at the intersection of Highway 89 and Fortson Rd.
Arkansas DOT reported State Highway 236 between Highway 89 and Highway 31 was blocked due to high water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, February 2018
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: 740236, 740238, 740239, 740245, 740247, 740249, 740724, 740736, 740243, 740246, 740256, 740733, 740737, 740742, 740743, 741191, 741193, 741194, 741195, 741196, 741198, 741200, 741798, 741803, 741804, 741805, 741806, 741807, 741808, 741809, 741810, 741812, 741813, 741865, 741866, 741867, 741868, 742058, 742060, 742061, and more.