Flood — Baxter, Arkansas

2008-03-18 to 2008-03-21 · near Arkana, Baxter, Arkansas

Event narrative

Heavy rain caused the White River in Baxter County to flood. Thirty feet of River View Road on the North Fork of the White River were washed out. River View Drive and River Ridge Road were washed out. Deputies used helicopters to rescue about a dozen people from Norfork Village. One family was evacuated from their residence on River Valley Road. Seven campers and 20 residences were evacuated at Buffalo City. Approximately 60 homes were damaged to some degree with about 30 having major damage, 15 with moderate damage, and the remainder with minor damage in the county. Some livestock and pasture losses were noted also.

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 → (36.2421, -92.3030)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 89525. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.