Flash Flood — Johnson, Arkansas

2009-10-29 to 2009-10-30 · near Oark, Johnson, Arkansas

Event narrative

Flooding on Spadra Creek and Horsehead Creek caused roads to be flooded and culverts washed out. Numerous streets were flooded in Clarksville, as was U.S. Highway 64 around Hartman and Coal Hill. Around 9:20 PM CDT, a washout on a railroad track caused a train derailment in the Coal Hill Bottoms, south of Coal Hill. Nineteen hopper cars carrying soybeans were derailed, spilling the beans and tearing up a section of track. Mudslides occurred on Interstate 40 southwest of Hunt, on Arkansas Highway 103 in the Batson Mountain vicinity, and on a road north of Catalpa. Eight houses were flooded in the western part of the county. Cattle had to be rescued from flooding at the Dirty Creek Bridge on Arkansas Highway 164. Numerous county roads were flooded in the area west of Arkansas Highway 21. Several water rescues were necessary.

Wider weather episode

A large storm system in the Rockies headed through the Plains into the upper Midwest on the 29th. Rain increased ahead of the system, and became widespread in Arkansas. Meanwhile, a cold front arrived from the west. Because the system was so far to the north, it did not give the front much push. The front slowed down, which prolonged the rain. The result was widespread flash flooding, which gave way to areal flooding and river flooding. Winds changed direction and speed up through the atmosphere, a favorable condition for tornadoes. However, instability was sufficient only in southern Arkansas for the development of tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.7025, -93.5987)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 196401. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.