Flash Flood — Fulton, Arkansas

2008-03-18 to 2008-03-19 · near Ott, Fulton, Arkansas

Event narrative

Arkansas Highway 395 north of Salem was closed due to high water. On Arkansas Highway 223 south of Viola, a 22-foot bridge collapsed due to flooding. Two people were rescued at Sadler Falls due to flooding. The South Fork River overflowed its banks in Salem and flooded a construction site for a new baseball complex. Water flooded 120 homes in the county.

Wider weather episode

Very heavy rain began developing late on the 17th in northern and western Arkansas, and continued on the 18th as a powerful storm system approached from Texas. The system dredged copious moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, and sent it toward Arkansas with a deep southerly wind flow. Well above normal precipitable water was noted, which enhanced rainfall efficiency across the region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.4898, -92.1327)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 86123. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.