Flash Flood — Lawrence, Arkansas

2017-05-03 to 2017-05-04 · near (arg)walnut Ridge Ar, Lawrence, Arkansas

Event narrative

The Black River levee east of Pocahontas suffered several breaches during the early morning hours of May 3rd. The water flowed south along the Big Running Water Creek and eventually flooded parts of Lawrence County. Highway 63 was closed between Portia and Walnut Ridge. Water flowing over the highway damaged the shoulders. Roads leading into Clover Bend were flooded and several houses in the area had water inside them.

Wider weather episode

Very heavy rain fell across the Eleven Point River, Current River and Black River basins in Missouri and Arkansas at the end of April into early. As a result major river flooding occured in Clay, Randolph and Lawrence counties into early May. The levee along the Black River east of Pocahontas failed resulting in flash flooding across parts of Randolph and Lawrence counties. A major disaster declaration was granted for Clay, Lawrence and Randolph Counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.1495, -90.9522)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 698109. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.