Flash Flood — Little River, Arkansas

2023-10-04 · near Arden, Little River, Arkansas

Event narrative

Water flowing over Highway 32 south of Arden.

Wider weather episode

A prolonged period of heavy rainfall occurred on October 4th across parts of extreme Southwest Arkansas. Showers and thunderstorms with 1-3 inch per hour rainfall rates trained in the vicinity of a warm front, which was draped across the Ark-La-Tex and in adjacent portions of Southeast Oklahoma and Northeast Louisiana. Deep convergence of moisture along the boundary resulted as the core of the low-level jet and associated moisture transport was directed due north from the Upper Texas coast. Other factors contributing to the heavy rainfall included a sharp instability gradient with mean-layer CAPE values from 500-1500 J/kg, maximized precipitable water values from 2.0-2.2 inches and effective bulk shear of 25-30 knots. As a result, this area quickly became favorable for increasing convective organization as multi-cell thunderstorms continued to train over the same areas throughout much of the morning. Over time, isolated flash flooding developed in areas impacted by 4-8 inch rainfall totals, most notably in and around the Texarkana metro area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.6700, -94.2900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1144209. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.