Flash Flood — Scott, Arkansas

2021-05-25 · near Waldron, Scott, Arkansas

Event narrative

The Scott County sheriff reported several portions of Hwy 71 unpassable due to elevated rivers and streams around Mansfield, Waldron, and Y City.

Wider weather episode

Abundant moisture/high humidity relocated to the Plains from the 20th to the 23rd, and we dried out temporarily. It did not last, with moisture shifting in this direction by the 25th. Early in the day, thunderstorms east of Oklahoma City, OK weakened, and left behind a system aloft. This mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) initiated new thunderstorms over the Ouachita Mountains in the afternoon.

It was a gullywasher through the evening (two to more than four inches of rain) from Waldron (Scott County) and Mena (Polk County) to Danville (Yell County) and Russellville (Pope County). There was flooding along Highway 71 in Scott County, and made the thoroughfare impassible in places. Just northeast of Rover (Yell County), water flowed across Highway 27. There was street flooding in Mena (Polk County) as well.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.9000, -94.0900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 962122. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.