Rain, flooding expected as Gordon strolls along
Tropical depression Gordon will be moving through Arkansas until Saturday, and National Weather Service officials expect the resulting rainfall to produce flooding in parts of the state.
The National Weather Service originally classified Gordon a tropical storm and expected it to become the season’s first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast, but after it made landfall in Mississippi late Tuesday, it was downgraded it to a depression.
Although there had not been any flooding in Arkansas as of Thursday afternoon, Dennis Cavanaugh, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Little Rock, said he expects to see localized flash flooding. The state is to expected to get an average of 3-5 inches of rain from the storm.
Flash flood watches were issued Thursday for west-central, central and southeast Arkansas. Southwest and northern Arkansas also are expected to get heavy rainfall, but no flash flood watches are in effect
for those areas because they have been so dry lately.
By Saturday, the rainfall will dwindle, but there will still be a lot of moisture in the air, and an expected cold front could create more rain and possibly more flooding, Cavanaugh said. The showers should be more scattered Saturday, however.
Flooding Saturday will depend on “what we look like Friday, in terms of flooding,” Cavanaugh said.
The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management organized on-call teams in case flooding does occur, said Dan Noble, the department’s public information officer. The teams started shifts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and Emergency Management officials scheduled them to end about 7 a.m. today. Such shifts could continue if the weather calls for it.
“We’re closely monitoring the situation,” Noble said.
Arkansas Department of Transportation officials have been preparing all week for potential flooding, said Danny Straessle, the department’s public information officer. Preparations have included sharpening chain saws, having road barricades available and checking that trucks are ready for flooded road conditions.
If there is flooding, the Transportation Department will list the areas on the traveler information website — idrivearkansas.com — to let Arkansans know which areas to avoid.
“We’re prepared if they do happen,” Straessle said of flooding. “We deal with this all the time.”
To help prevent flooding, crews have been out also making sure that drainage outlets are clear.
“We’ve been very proactive this week,” Straessle said.
He said drivers who encounter flooded roads, should find alternate routes. It doesn’t take a lot of water to sweep vehicles off roads. “If you can’t see the pavement, don’t drive on it,” he said.
Straessle recommended that drivers reduce their speeds when driving through heavy rain.
He also reminded that Arkansas law requires drivers to turn on their headlights when they turn on their windshield wipers.
“We don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Cavanaugh said.
In Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, the storm knocked out power to at least 27,000 customers.
Cavanaugh said he does not think Arkansas will experience power failures from this storm because its wind speed has lowered to about 10 mph, with gusts of up to 15-20 mph.
Tropical systems generally don’t include a lot of lightning that can strike power lines, he said, adding that winds usually start taking out power lines at 40-45 mph.