Flood — Lonoke, Arkansas

2009-12-24 to 2009-12-29 · near Mountain Spgs, Lonoke, Arkansas

Event narrative

Flash flooding, which developed early on the morning of the 24th, became widespread areal flooding later in the morning on the 24th and continued for several days. Arkansas Highway 89 was closed near Furlow. Fire departments used boats to rescue five residents on Grayhawk Circle, where water was about 5 feet deep on Christmas Eve morning. Along Arkansas Highway 236 West, water was 4 to 5 feet deep on the road and even deeper in the houses. The South Bend Fire Department responded to 38 calls for rescues from vehicles trapped in high water, and assisted six families who needed to leave flooded homes. One motorist suffered hypothermia before he was rescued from his car. Problem areas included Graham Road, Kerr Station Road, South Kerr Road, Gentry Lane, Rifle Lane, and Shotgun Lane. Arkansas Highway 31 was flooded from Beebe to Lonoke. U.S. Highway 70 was closed by flooding between Carlisle and Lonoke. In Carlisle, part of City Hall flooded. In Lonoke, a number of homes and the city shop were flooded. County roads throughout the county were damaged.

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 → (35.0548, -92.0853)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 202008. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.