Storms leave flooded roads; more rain on way, forecasters say

Highways across Arkansas remained flooded Sunday as the National Weather Service reported the state is expected to see another two rounds of rainfall later this week.

Strong wind and rainfall battered the state on Saturday and storms led to flooded roads, power failures and the death of a man who used a wheelchair. The man drowned after his trailer home was blown into a pond, authorities said.

A tornado also caused damage in Keiser in Mississippi County, where hundreds were still without power Sunday evening, officials said.

Arkansas is expected to see dry conditions today, but the forecast calls for rainfall Tuesday night and Wednesday, said Chris Buonanno, a science and operations officer at the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

The rainfall Tuesday night could bring another 2 to 3 inches of rain — precipitation that will be heaviest in the southern part of the state, he said.

Another round of rainfall is expected to arrive Wednesday, he said. That system could bring severe weather, such as hail, strong wind and isolated tornadoes, Buonanno said.

Like Tuesday’s expected rainfall, the Wednesday weather system will be heaviest in the southern half of the state.

Many areas of Arkansas have seen two to three times the normal amount of rain over the past 30 days, with most of the precipitation coming over the past week, Buonanno said. Most of the state received 5 inches of rain last week, while some parts in central Arkansas saw 10 to 15 inches of rainfall, he said.

On Saturday alone, Little Rock, Monticello, Mountain Home and Jonesboro all saw 1 to 2 inches of rain, according to the service.

In Clay County over the weekend, a trailer home in the 4600 block of Arkansas 90 was blown into a pond, according to Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller. The sheriff said 83-year-old Albert Charles Foster, who used a wheelchair, was in the home and drowned after being unable to get out of the structure.

Miller did not report any other fatalities.

While other cities dealt with flooded roads, the small town of Keiser in northeast Arkansas dealt with the aftermath of an EF-1 tornado.

The storm blew out windows, ripped off roofs and brought down trees in Keiser, said Mississippi County Sheriff Dale Cook.

The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday the storm damage was related to a tornado. An EF-1 storm is the second-lowest on the Enhanced Fujita scale, characterized by wind from 86-110 miles per hour.

On Sunday, Cook said hundreds of people showed up to help with the recovery efforts, clearing the streets of tree debris and trying to restore power.

“Communities all come together when they have problem like that,” he said.

The severe weather caused major damage to the Rodeway Inn near Interstate 55 in Osceola, Cook said.

Five Arkansas counties — Chicot, Clark, Lee, Randolph and White counties — have declared emergencies, and more than 40 counties in total have reported damage, said Department of Emergency Management spokesman Dan Noble on Sunday.

“We are always monitoring the situation at a state level,” he said.

Alison Melson, a spokesman for Entergy Arkansas, said about 8,000 people lost power because of the storms. As of 6:30 p.m. Sunday, she said that figure had dropped to 288 people. She said 256 of those people were in Mississippi County, where the Saturday tornado hit.

As of Sunday evening, segments of more than two dozen state highways were shut down because of high water.