Flood — Monroe, Arkansas

2008-03-18 to 2008-03-31 · near Clarendon Muni Arpt, Monroe, Arkansas

Event narrative

Heavy rain caused the White River at Clarendon to go above major flood level and to the highest stage since May, 1973. The river was in minor flood at the beginning of the month and continued to rise due to the heavy rains. Approximately 10 county roads and part of Arkansas Highway 302 north of Clarendon were closed because of flooding. Residents of Maddox Bay and Indian Bay were evacuated due to flooding. Numerous homes, possibly as many as 40, flooded at Maddox Bay, Indian Bay, and at St. Charles. There were some minor agricultural losses, such as to winter wheat. The flooding continued into April.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.7526, -91.4296)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 89323. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.