 |
| Yearly Reports |
| Interested in what kind of weather occurred in a recent year? Check out the most memorable events below. |
|
|
 |
Heavy Rain/Severe Weather on April 23-27, 2011 (Pg1) |
 |
| |
 |
After many months of drought conditions in Arkansas, a major flood and flash flood event unfolded from April 23rd through the 27th. |
| In the picture: Ninety six hour (four day) rainfall through 100 am CDT on 04/27/2011. |
|
Four to eight inches of rain was common in the northwest half of the state, with locally over a foot. Farther southeast, two to four inches fell...with local amounts exceeding six inches.
Harrison (Boone County) had a ninety six hour (four day) amount of 10.44 inches through 100 am CDT on the 27th. This pushed the April total to 14.13 inches, or .01 inch away from the record setting wet April of 1945. The record was broken after 100 am CDT with another 0.60 inch of rain.
Given this much rain across the region, there was flash flooding and some road closures. At least five flash flood fatalities were reported in Benton, Madison and Washington Counties (in the far northwest). The deaths were mostly the result of vehicles swept away by rapidly moving water. Another person was killed in Perry County after venturing out into flood waters.
Existing drought conditions kept the situation from becoming worse. A lot of the water went into the ground initially. Over time, runoff increased as the ground became more saturated, and that affected area rivers.
|
 |
| In the picture: The hydrograph (as of 1000 am CDT on 04/27/2011) for the Black River at Corning (Clay County) showed major flooding, and a stage (17.13 feet) higher than the record crest (16.92 feet). |
|
| |
|
Moderate to major flooding occurred along the Buffalo, Black, Spring, Eleven Point and upper White Rivers. These rivers are in northern and eastern sections of the state. Minor to moderate flooding was expected farther south, including the Arkansas and Ouachita basins.
There was record flooding on the Black River. As of 1100 am CDT on the 28th, the river at Corning (Clay County) was at 18.12 feet...and had topped the 16.92 foot record established on June 13, 1945. At Pocahontas (Randolph County), the stage was 28.31 feet...breaking the previous record set almost 100 years ago (27.90 feet on August 4, 1915). Dozen of residents were evacuated from their homes in town due to rising water and a breached levee. All of this water was headed down the White River, with crests surpassing (in early May) historic levels reached in 2008!
|
| Crests Along Black River |
| Location |
River |
Crest (ft) |
Flood Stage (ft) |
Date |
Crest (ft) |
Date |
| Corning (Clay Co) |
Black |
15.92 |
15 |
03/22/2008 |
18.12R |
04/28/2011 |
| Pocahontas (Randolph Co) |
Black |
26.56 |
17 |
03/22/2008 |
28.47R |
04/28/2011 |
| Black Rock (Lawrence Co) |
Black |
29.71 |
14 |
03/20/2008 |
30.45 |
04/26/2011 |
| Note: "R" is record crest. |
| In addition to the high water problems, there was a lot of severe weather. On the 23rd, a tornado (rated EF1) tracked through portions of southern Newton County. |
 |
| In the picture: A weak tornado (rated EF1) tracked through Madison and Newton Counties on 04/23/2011. |
|
A storm with strong rotation (on radar) headed through portions of Scott, Logan and Yell Counties (in western Arkansas) on the 24th. The storm produced baseball size hail at Mount Magazine (Logan County) and a few miles west of Centerville (Yell County). No tornado was confirmed.
|
|
|
On the 25th, a tornado outbreak affected southwest and central sections of the state. Sixteen (16) tornadoes were identified (rated EF1 to EF3). |
| In the picture: The WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) showed a tornado storm heading rapidly toward Vilonia (Faulkner County) from the southwest between 700 pm and 730 pm CDT on 04/25/2011. In the hook portion of the storm, a "debris ball" is noted (circular area of white and pink colors). This signature usually indicates that damage has occurred (i.e. structures hit) by a tornado. |
| One of the strongest of these hit the community of Vilonia (Faulkner County) around 725 pm CDT. The tornado was responsible for major structural damage, and four fatalities (at a mobile home park southwest of town). |
|
| In the picture: The WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) showed very strong rotation heading rapidly toward Vilonia (Faulkner County) from the southwest between 700 pm and 730 pm CDT on 04/25/2011. A tornado was spawned, with extensive damage reported. |
 |
| In the picture: Twelve fatalities in Arkansas resulted from severe weather or flash flooding as of 04/27/2011. Two other fatalities were reported (in Garland and Faulkner Counties), but they were not directly related to the weather. |
|
| |
|
This tornado (rated EF2) was long-lived, lasting just over 51 miles and ripping through three counties (Pulaski, Faulkner and White).
There were three tornadoes in Garland County alone, with one of the tornadoes claiming the life of an 8 month old boy (who died from his injuries several days after the storm). Another tornado cut through Hot Springs Village (Garland County). As a warning for this particular tornado was issued, a youth service for 60 children was in progress at Fountain Lake (Garland County). Everyone was evacuated from the church when the warning was received on NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards.
|
 |
Damage north of Jacksonville (Pulaski County) was caused by a tornado. The North Pulaski High School auditorium suffered extensive roof damage, and several brick walls on the back end of the school collapsed. Three aircraft were damaged at the Little Rock Air Force Base (Pulaski County), and numerous housing units were flattened and destroyed.
|
| In the picture: This tornado was captured near Gravel Ridge (Pulaski County) just off of Highway 107 on 04/25/2011. A short time later, the tornado tracked through the Little Rock Air Force Base (Pulaski County). The photo is courtesy of Jerry Johnson. Click to enlarge. |
| |
| There is more concerning heavy rain and severe weather on April 23rd through the 27th. To check out the rest of the story, click here. |
|
|
RSS Feeds
