Coming off of the extreme floods of 2011, the river was approaching historic lows in the summer of 2012 near Memphis and along much of its lower reaches.
Meandering across a wide, relatively flat plain, the White River of Arkansas is no stranger to flooding. With regularity, spring rains push the river over its banks, inundating the flood-adapted forest that surrounds it. The river reached its fifth highest crest of 33.78 feet on April 19, 2008.