Flood — Ouachita, Arkansas

2008-10-07 to 2008-10-09 · near Amy, Ouachita, Arkansas

Event narrative

An elderly man drowned when he drove his small SUV into floodwaters on Arkansas Highway 7 south of Amy. The vehicle was washed off the highway and overturned. Doppler weather radar estimated that at least 6 to 8 inches of rain had fallen in the area on the night of the 6th and the morning of the 7th. The rain caused creeks to begin rising, and the highway eventually flooded. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department indicated that the highway was closed and barricaded on the afternoon of the 7th. The man drove around the barricades and into the water around 5:30 AM CDT on the 8th. According to a report from the Arkansas State Police, the water on the highway was 4 feet deep at the time of the accident. Furthermore, the Ouachita County Sheriff's Office indicated that the water was still rising quickly at the time.

Wider weather episode

An area of low pressure, and an accompanying cold front, approached from the west and collided with an air mass that was much more humid than normal for early fall.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.7233, -92.8189)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 130580. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.