Flash Flood — Benton, Arkansas

2022-08-29 · near Bentonville Muni Arp, Benton, Arkansas

Event narrative

Two boys playing in shallow flood water in a retention area, wandered close to a storm drain, and were pulled under the water. A woman immediately dove into the water to attempt to rescue the boys, and managed to save one of them. The other boy was recovered by first responders, but died at the hospital. The woman was also recovered by first responders, and was taken to a hospital where she was on life support for several days. She later died from her injuries sustained in the drowning.

Wider weather episode

Scattered thunderstorms developed across northwestern Arkansas during the afternoon and evening of the 29th. The atmosphere across the region became very unstable by the afternoon, promoting a few intense thunderstorms. The strongest storms that developed produced damaging outflow wind gusts. Additionally, locally heavy rainfall in Benton County resulted in some flooding, in which two people drowned.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.3446, -94.2116)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1052730. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.