Flood in Fulton County, Arkansas

Excessive rainfall in Missouri and north Arkansas caused another sharp rise on the Warm Fork of the Spring River and the Spring River, flooding portions of Mammoth Spring and areas downstream. The river rose to 20.8 feet, within two feet of the March crest at the Hardy gage. Over bank flooding begins at 10 feet. The flood wave from the Warm Fork of the Spring River, which comes from West Plains, MO, and into Thayer, MO, was significantly higher than the March flooding. Damage to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission trout hatchery was severe, with loss of equipment and all trout in the holding tanks.

There was widespread heavy rain in northern and western Arkansas between the 9th and the 11th of the month. A weather system in Texas dragged a cold front toward the region which produced 24-hour rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches by the morning of the 10th and an additional 1 to 3 inches by the morning of the 11th. Flooding was a problem along the Arkansas and White Rivers and tributaries. Releases from Lake Norfork in Baxter County in excess of 86,000 cubic feet per second, combined with high flows from the White River tributaries, produced major flooding again on the White River from Calico Rock to all points downstream. Points on the lower Arkansas River crested higher than in March, due in part to the high stages on the Mississippi River.