Flash Flood — Madison, Arkansas

1998-01-05 · near South Portion, Madison, Arkansas

Event narrative

The Madison County sheriff died when his patrol car was swept off of a low-water bridge over the White River on County Road 112 near St. Paul around 7:00 am. The river was swollen by heavy rains during the night. The 24-hour rainfall ending at 7 AM for St. Paul was 3.39 inches.

Wider weather episode

A strongly baroclinic, southwest-northeast oriented front pulled up stationary over eastern Oklahoma on Jan. 4-5. A series of upper level disturbances in southwest flow aloft caused heavy rains to break out across the region. Rainfall totals of three to six inches were common. Fayetteville's Drake Field had a two-day rainfall total of 6.33 inches, coming on top of already-saturated grounds caused by heavy rains during the week before Christmas. Most creeks and rivers overflowed their banks, and numerous low-water bridges were covered with water. Unfortunately, this led to the death of Madison County's sheriff when he unsuccessfully tried to cross one such bridge near St. Paul in his patrol car on a routine patrol. His car overturned in the fast and high water, and he was unable to escape.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5631439. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.