After some flooding, state’s rain to let up

Rain flooded parts of western Arkansas and several rivers across the state Saturday, but the clouds are expected to drop much less rain today and Monday.

The highest rain totals expected in the state today are about 1 to 2 inches in southeast Arkansas, said meteorologist Brian Smith of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

On Saturday, rain caused a few hazards in the state. A half-mile of Arkansas 166 near Stokes closed because of high water, according to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, and the Bryant Police Department closed Boone Road at Bishop Park because of flooding.

The road closure in Bryant is the only one meteorologist Michael Brown said the weather service in North Little Rock was aware of Saturday afternoon.

Water levels rose at Lake Hamilton in Garland, Entergy Arkansas spokesman Julie Munsell said, causing some docks to break loose, which would cause problems for owners with boats docked there.

Munsell said he wasn’t aware of any major blackouts related to the rain, although some parts of the state experienced minor power failures.

After more than 3 inches of rain saturated the ground in western Arkansas about two weeks ago, meteorologist Glenn Wiley said, the 1 to 3 inches that dropped this weekend turned into runoff, causing floods.

“During the summertime, it wouldn’t be any problem at all,” said Wiley, who works with the National Weather Service in Tulsa. “Everything is green … soaks it right up.”

But in the winter, the same amount of rain turns into runoff. “It’s not so much the amount of rainfall you get but the amount of runoff you get that causes floods,” Wiley said.

Western Arkansas won’t get much rain today, Wiley said. Northwest Arkansas should get about one-third of an inch. Areas to the south and east of Fort Smith will get about three-quarters of an inch to an inch.

Flood warnings were issued Saturday for Northwest Arkansas down to Sebastian County. The warning for the northwest corner of the state was removed by midday Saturday, and meteorologist Joe Sellers in Tulsa said the warning for Sebastian, Franklin and southern Crawford counties would be lifted at 11:15 a.m. today.