Flood in Sharp County, Arkansas

Heavy rain caused the Spring River at Hardy to go above major flood level. The mayor of Hardy was notified by the Little Rock Office of the National Weather Service the day before this event that very heavy rain was possible. The local officials took steps to notify the property owners along the river. As a result, only a few homes along the river had to be evacuated during the event and there were no fatalities. A significant amount of personal property was also moved out of the floodplain. The river rose quickly and the surge of water swept away homes, propane tanks, canoes, parked vehicles, and even pieces of the road. Approximately 112 homes were affected by the flood with at least 6 destroyed and more than 20 with major damage. Approximately 55 to 60 homes were seriously damaged. Two homes were swept down the river. Damage to public property was estimated at $2 Million. The Hardy City Hall, police station and city park sustained heavy damage with 4 feet of water in City Hall. U.S. Highway 63 flooded, as did the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. A portion of the railroad was washed out. This was the highest the river had been since at least December of 1982. There had been a significant amount of development in the floodplain since the 1982 flood.

Very heavy rain began developing late on the 17th in northern and western Arkansas, and continued on the 18th and early on the 19th 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.