Flash Flood in Independence County, Arkansas

Flash flooding struck several parts of Independence County, making numerous water rescues necessary. At least two feet of water covered Arkansas 233 at Moorefield, a mudslide occurred on Arkansas 25 near Brock Mountain, a car was under water at a convenience store in Pfeiffer, and a bridge was under water between Batesville and Moorefield on Arkansas 25 when a creek overflowed. County roads and bridges had considerable damage. A number of houses were damaged by floodwaters.

A round of showers and thunderstorms occurred during the morning of the 27th. Some of the storms produced hail in central Arkansas. New storms during the afternoon dropped hail in the northern and western parts of the state. The cool outflow from the morning storms left a boundary draped across the middle of the state. This boundary separated cool air to the north and much warmer air to the south. During the evening, as a strong area of low pressure approached, a supercell erupted rapidly along the boundary. Altogether, the supercell produced five separate tornadoes, the first of which was rated EF4 and killed 16 people. It was the deadliest single tornado in Arkansas since 1968. Nearly 200 people were treated at hospitals.

Large amounts of rain fell over the northeastern quarter of the state. For the 24-hour period ending at 7 AM on the 28th, some of the larger totals included 7.60 inches at Batesville Lock and Dam (Independence Co.), 6.10 inches at Calamine (Sharp Co.), 5.34 inches at Evening Shade (Sharp Co.), 5.05 inches at Melbourne (Izard Co.), 4.46 inches at Hardy (Sharp Co.), 4.18 inches at Blanchard Springs (Stone Co.), 3.96 inches at Armstead Mountain (Pope Co.), 3.95 inches at Saddle (Fulton Co.), 3.92 inches at Poughkeepsie (Sharp Co.), 3.91 inches at Greers Ferry Dam (Cleburne Co.), and 3.72 inches at Mountain View (Stone Co.).

President Barack Obama declared a disaster in the following counties: Faulkner, Pulaski, White, Cleburne, Independence, Jackson, Izard, Sharp, and Fulton.