Flash Flood — Clark, Arkansas

2009-12-23 to 2009-12-24 · near Amity, Clark, Arkansas

Event narrative

Widespread heavy rain resulted in the development of flash flooding. Numerous county roads were flooded, as were streets in Arkadelphia. Garner Mountain Road was washed out. Arkansas Highway 53 northwest of Gurdon was partially blocked on the evening of the 23rd. By the wee hours of the 24th, Arkansas Highways 7 and 8 were blocked east of Arkadelphia due to water over the road. Arkansas Highway 128 was blocked as well. Arkansas Highway 26 was barricaded.

Wider weather episode

A strong but slow-moving low pressure system began its approach to Arkansas on the 23rd. Ahead of this low, unseasonably large amounts of moisture were drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico. The approach of the low set off heavy rain and thunderstorms on the 23rd and 24th. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches were common for the two-day period. In a broad swath from southwest Arkansas through the central part of the state into northeast Arkansas, many places picked up 7 to 10 inches of rain. Flash flooding resulted initially, followed by areal flooding and river flooding. After the low passed by, colder air spilled into Arkansas. Light snow fell across parts of northern and western Arkansas from late on the 24th into the early morning hours of Christmas Day. Most snowfall amounts were in the 1/2 to 1 inch range, with spotty totals up to 2 inches. Though the amounts were rather small, hazardous driving conditions resulted.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.2675, -93.4593)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 201988. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.