The National Weather Service says that last month will go down as the warmest Arkansas March ever — until the next one, at least — with 46 monitoring stations around the state logging record average temperatures.

Little Rock posted an average March temperature of 64.3 degrees, the highest since records started being kept in 1879. Highest avg. temp in the whole state? Saint Charles, at 66.9 degrees.

Break out the sunscreen, kids. Something tells me this summer is gonna be a scorcher. Full list of stations posting record-setting March average temps on the jump...

By the way, as if you didn't know this empirically: March 2012 hottest March on record in Arkansas, and by a lot: Daytime highs averaged 76.2 degrees, more than 12 degrees above the normal average high for March, says Fox 16. I'm not sure what a normal average is, but I do know this: when it's too hot to sit outside on a March morning, it's hot.

* Weather Channel — high 36, 1 to 2 inches of snow and ice.

* Weather Underground — high 32, ice pellets.

* AccuWeather — high 35, wintry mix in the afternoon.

* National Weather Service — Highs in the mid-30s, snow up to 1 inch. Details here. The key remark:

IT MUST BE EMPHASIZED THAT A DEGREE OR TWO DIFFERENCE IN THE TEMPERATURES...BOTH ON THE GROUND AND ALOFT...COULD DRASTICALLY CHANGE THE EXPECTED PRECIPITATION TYPES AND AMOUNTS.

Coming this weekend, apparently. Here's the Weather Service's most recent forecast for snow and sleet over Little Rock and points north on Monday, but this forecast is in the iffy stage at the moment, I think.

• CRACKED: Facebook photo of cracked windscreen in Frontier plane's cockpit.

I just saw a note posted on Facebook by a former Arkansas Times colleague. I haven't run down the airline and flight number yet (and have to leave now for the evening), but it sounds like a harrowing experience on a flight out of Little Rock this afternoon.

On a flight out of Little Rock today, took off and immediately got into a storm, rain, hail, turbulence from hell, dropped about 20 feet straight down, blown from side to side, then struck by lightning......wing I was sitting at zapped, window behind me broken!!!! Redirected flight to Kansas City, pilot said they need to reevaluate...... You think? Thank you to all above for keeping us above!

The WHOLE plane is in the bar, could see the plane from the bar, big hole where the lightning hit. All the ground crew standing around shaking their heads!!!!!

Anybody with additional info, please chip in.

UPDATE: More from Jody Langley, who was on the Frontier flight to Denver. She posted photo of cracked windscreen on her Facebook account and wrote:

My husband and I were on the Frontier flight. We were told it was hit by lightning twice, along with the wind and hail. The pilot told us the the wind screen was cracked and that we wouldn't be able to reach the normal altitude of over 30,000 ft. We were flying at 22000 ft. We didn't have enough fuel to reach Denver so we landed in Kansas City. It was quite scary. We were also told by the flight attendants that there were 2 flights in front of us that didn't hit any bad weather. Other people on flight said there was a hole in one of the wings.

The plane was all over the place, but props to the pilots for getting us through it and the flight attendants who were awesome.

Thanks to light snow, 40/29 reports nearly 100 accidents on highways in Northwest Arkansas, particularly highways from Fayetteville to Bella Vista.

APOLOGIES TO OFFENDED NWA READERS: No sarcasm or criticism intended by headline or the item. The 40/29 report didn't mention ice, which is apparently a complicating factor this morning, it only mentioned snow and the photograph indicates that it wasn't heavy.

If you've been outside, or anywhere near some sort of social media platform today, you know it's hot. Real, frickin' hot. Well, I wouldn't mention it other than to note that today Little Rock broke an all-time high temperature record. That's right, today we hit the highest temperature ever recorded in Little Rock at 114 degrees. The previous record was 112 degrees, set July 31, 1986.

Record highs were also set in North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Harrison and Hot Springs, according to the National Weather Service.

We are gradually adding to our on-line database of public salaries. Pulaski County government pay data is now on-line along with Little Rock government data. We'll be adding state government and other local governments soon. I'd note that our lists are comprehensive. The Democrat-Gazette went on-line today with public pay data, but is not including workers who make less than $37,823.

A panel discussion is set for noon today at the Clinton School on current flooding and memories of the great flood of 1927.

Speakers will be William H. Bowen, the retired banker who'll recall the 1927 flood of his childhood; Henry Himstedt of the Corps of Engineers who'll talk about flood control; Matt DeCample of the governor's office on current relief efforts; Warrern Carter of the Farm Bureau on agricultural damage, and Randy Ort of the Highway Department.

Speaking of flooding: From DeValls Bluff, where a moat and improvised levee saved one man's home, at least for a time. But I'm hearing the levee may not have held. And further releases of White River water at Bull Shoals Dam are ominous for all downstream.

It may not be the apocalypse but ...

Alma is without power and schools are closed today because a storm last night downed so many power lines. 40/29 reports closure of the Alma exit at I-40 and another strip of highway because of downed lines.

Latest news puts tornado deaths in Joplin, Mo., last night at 89, and a Red Cross spokesman says a huge percentage of the city is all but destroyed.

A video clip here.

Washington Post coverage includes a striking photo of a storm-ravaged Joplin hospital, including a flattened medical helicopter.

Here's a chilling YouTube report from a group in a building smashed by the storm.

Flood waters have receded enough that the Highway Department has been able to reopen eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 near the White River bridge, the highway department says.

The westbound detour at Brinkley remains in effect.

• Newseum
• MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI: Much talk in journalism circles today about powerful photo on front page of Commercial Appeal, from Arkansas side.

Just in case you missed it: Rising White River floodwaters have also forced closure of eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 at exit 193. This link shows the detours for both directions of the major truck route.

Too many flooding trouble spots to mention in our vicinity on the White, Mississippi and more. And crests appear to be days away.

Channel 7's Angela Rachels posted this photograph on Twitter of deer seeking higher ground in White River flooding near Georgetown.

Rising rivers continue to create mounting problems in Arkansas.

The Highway and Transportation Department today said closure of both directions of Interstate 40 at Mile Marker 202 was "imminent" because of flood waters from the White River. Details were being discussed at a news conference at 3 p.m.

With closure, the plan was to detour westbound traffic at Brinkley on Highway 49 north to Fair Oaks, then Highway 64 west to Bald Knob and then Highway 67 south to Little Rock. Eastbound traffic was to be diverted at Hazen to Highway 63 to Stuttgart, Highway 165 to DeWitt, Highway 1 to Marvell and then routes to either Brinkley, Forrest city or Helena.

The Trucker, which posted the planned detours, noted these were 100-mile detours that involved miles of two-lane roads for a major east-west trucking bridge route. It is going to be a mess out there.

UPDATE: At 4:20 p.m. both westbound lanes were closed, but eastbound lanes remained open. But that wasn't expected to last long.

Meanwhile, comes word from Southeast Arkansas of growing concern about the rising Mississippi River.

• WABG-TV
• ALONG THE LEVEE: Mississippi is rising closer to the top of levees along the river near Lake Village.

On the jump, the Facebook page of a Lake Village area farmer provides a summary of the Chicot County judge's report on the situation.