Flood — White, Arkansas

2008-03-18 to 2008-03-31 · near Nortons Corner, White, Arkansas

Event narrative

Heavy rain caused the White River at Georgetown to go above major flood level. This was the highest the river had risen since the two major flood reduction reservoirs were built in the middle of the twentieth century. The river was above minor flood level to start the event and continued to rise due to heavy rains. Some surrounding fields had six or seven feet of water in them. The communities of Georgetown and Nimmo were cut off for more than a month, when backwaters from the White River covered Arkansas Highway 36 between West Point and Georgetown. During this time, the only access to the area was by boat. Homes and cabins in the Nimmo community were either cut off by high water or flooded. As many as 30 homes were damaged in Georgetown and Nimmo. Agricultural losses to winter wheat were noted. 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 → (35.2114, -91.4832)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 89327. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.