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| Storm Reports |
| Are you interested in what happened during a recent event? Check out the report below. |
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March, 2012 Storm Report |
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| Short Weather Summary |
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| It was a record warm March across much of Arkansas. Average temperatures were more than 10 degrees above normal in some areas. There was also a surplus of rain, but it did not come every few days as is typical in early Spring. Precipitation came in two big batches, with inches at a time. |
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| There were numerous record high temperatures tied or broken in March. Check out the records below. |
| Site |
Record High (Date of Occurrence) |
| Batesville |
81 (03/02), 81 (03/13), 82 (03/14), 82 (03/15), 79 (03/17), 82 (03/25), 82 (03/27), 82 (03/28), 84T (03/31) |
| Fayetteville |
78T (03/16), 79T (03/18), 78T (03/25), 80T (03/26), 78T (03/27) |
| Fort Smith |
87T (03/17), 85T (03/26) |
| Hot Springs |
80T (03/01), 80 (03/02), 81T (03/14), 83 (03/25), 82 (03/26), 83 (03/27) |
| Jacksonville |
81 (03/02), 82 (03/18), 82T (03/25), 84T (03/27) |
| Jonesboro |
82T (03/14) |
| Little Rock |
83T (03/02) |
| Monticello |
85 (03/02), 83T (03/17), 85 (03/27) |
| Mount Ida |
79 (03/01), 83T (03/26) |
| North Little Rock |
80T (03/02), 79 (03/13), 82 (03/14), 83 (03/27) |
| Note: "T" means record was tied. |
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Large storm systems slowly moved toward Arkansas from the southern Rockies and southern Plains in March. Ridges of high pressure strengthened ahead of the systems. Under the ridges, much warmer than normal temperatures were noted. |
| In the picture: A storm system ("L") approaching from the west encountered a ridge of high pressure over the southeast United States in the seventy two hour period ending at 700 am CDT on 03/22/2012. The high grinded the system to a halt. The main flow aloft was well to the north, and had difficulty carrying the system away. |
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Across much of the state, average temperatures were 8 to 12 degrees above normal. At 46 observing sites in Arkansas, it was the warmest March on record. At Little Rock (Pulaski County), there were no freezes during the month. Since 1879, there were only 14 other Marches with no freezes.
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| Average Temperatures in March, 2012 |
| Site |
Avg Temp |
+/- |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
57.9° |
+9.8° |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
60.5° |
+11.7° |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
62.8° |
+12.6° |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
63.6° |
+10.7° |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
64.3° |
+10.9° |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
62.5° |
+11.0° |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
64.8° |
+8.9° |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
63.0° |
+7.2° |
| Pine Bluff (SE AR) |
64.6° |
+10.2° |
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The approaching storm systems and a deep southerly wind flow dredged abundant moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Large swaths of rain inched toward the region from Oklahoma and Texas. Eventually, rain became heavy to excessive, mainly in the western half of Arkansas.
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| In the picture: The WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) showed rain and isolated thunderstorms building across Arkansas ahead of a storm system ("L") in southwest Kansas at 318 pm CDT on 03/11/2012. |
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There were two big precipitation events...one on the 8th through the 12th and the other on the 19th through the 22nd. The latter event resulted in amounts over half a foot.
Twenty four hour rainfall through 700 am CDT on the 21st included 6.20 inches at Norfork (Baxter County), 6.10 inches at Mountain Home (Baxter County), 5.88 inches near Damascus (Van Buren County), 5.47 inches just northeast of Maumelle (Pulaski County), 4.45 inches at Sheridan (Grant County) and 4.35 inches at Calico Rock (Izard County).
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| Twenty Four Hour Rainfall (through 700 am CDT on 03/21/2012) |
| Site |
Amount (Inches) |
| Norfork (Baxter Co) |
6.20 |
| Mountain Home (Baxter Co) |
6.10 |
| Damascus (Van Buren Co) |
5.88 |
| Maumelle (Pulaski Co) |
5.47 |
| Clarkridge (Baxter Co) |
4.90 |
| Sherwood (Pulaski Co) |
4.76 |
| Sheridan (Grant Co) |
4.45 |
| Crystal Valley (Pulaski Co) |
4.42 |
| North Little Rock (Pulaski Co) |
4.38 |
| Calico Rock (Izard Co) |
4.35 |
| Ivan (Dallas Co) |
4.35 |
| Camden (Ouachita Co) |
4.33 |
| Conway (Faulkner Co) |
4.27 |
| Little Rock (Pulaski Co) |
4.25 |
| Moro Bay (Bradley Co) |
4.10 |
| Mountain View (Stone Co) |
4.07 |
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This event resulted in two flood/flash flood deaths. Rock Creek at Boyle Park in Little Rock (Pulaski County) often overflows when rain becomes excessive. On the 21st, the body of a woman was found in the creek. She apparently drowned. The South Fork of the Spring River claimed the life of a four year old boy on the 24th. He went missing near a camp about two miles east of Saddle (Fulton County). It appears he fell into the river and drowned.
Monthly rainfall totals were pushed to 150 to 200 percent of normal across the central and western counties. The east was not as fortunate, with 50 to 75 percent of normal amounts in places. Keiser (Mississippi County) had 3.28 inches (72 percent of normal) and Stuttgart (Arkansas) got 3.22 inches (72 percent of normal).
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| Precipitation in March, 2012 |
| Site |
Amount |
Normal |
+/- |
% of Normal |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
4.70 |
4.02 |
+0.68 |
117% |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
5.86 |
3.79 |
+2.07 |
155% |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
4.90 |
4.50 |
+0.40 |
109% |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
8.06 |
3.85 |
+4.21 |
209% |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
8.05 |
4.68 |
+3.37 |
172% |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
5.19 |
4.94 |
+0.25 |
105% |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
5.52 |
4.20 |
+1.32 |
131% |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
8.77 |
4.75 |
+4.02 |
185% |
| Pine Bluff (SE AR) |
4.46 |
5.40 |
-0.94 |
83% |
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Along the leading edge of the precipitation, there was some severe weather. During the afternoon of the 20th, straight-line winds gusting from 70 to 80 mph downed trees and power lines in Morrilton (Conway County), with some trees on houses. The occupant of one home was injured.
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| In the picture: Storm reports on March 19-20, 2012. The graphic is courtesy of the Storm Prediction Center. |
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Similar gusts damaged at least two mobile homes at Midway (Baxter County), and there were reports of people trapped inside. Just north of Damascus (Van Buren County), roofs were partially removed from a couple of barns. Quarter size hail was reported at Sheridan (Grant County).
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| Additional March Details |
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| For more details about March, 2012...go to the "Temperatures and Precipitation" section below. |
| Temperatures and Precipitation |
| Temperatures were well above normal in March. Readings at North Little Rock are shown to right. |
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Rainfall was above normal in central and western sections, and at or below normal in the east. Amounts at North Little Rock are shown to left. |
| To right, a look at precipitation across the state. |
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| For a look at actual temperatures and precipitation in Arkansas as measured by the cooperative observer network, click here. |
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