Officials raise severe storm awareness

Experts say rain, flooding deadlier than tornadoes

Residents prepare for tornadoes and thunderstorms when severe weather season arrives, but officials say heavy rain and flooding kill more people.

This week is the state’s Severe Weather Awareness Week.

March through May is considered the region’s rainy season, but Benton and Washington counties got more than twice the average rainfall in January, said Dennis Cavanaugh of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Clouds dumped about 4.6 inches of rain on the two-county region in January.

The 3.2 inches of rain that has fallen this month through Friday is also above normal.

Northwest Arkansas receives an average of about 4 feet of rain each year, Cavanaugh said. The past two years have been close to normal with 4 feet 3 inches falling in 2017 and 3 feet 10 inches in 2018.

Cavanaugh said this year’s outlook is above average rain and warmer-than-normal temperatures.

Floods caused widespread damage and several deaths across Northwest Arkansas in 2017. Five people, including a 10-year-old Springdale girl, died in flooding incidents in Arkansas that year.

The 116 people who died in flood-related incidents across the United States in 2017 were more than the deaths caused by any other weather event like lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, heat, winter, cold, wind and rip currents, according to the National Weather Service.

The 2017 floods forced Washington County to tackle 90 road repair projects, county attorney Brian Lester said. All of the repairs are completed, except for Brush Creek, which is one-third of the way finished and is expected to be completed by July 31. Most of the projects were considered small, but three were considered major projects, including Brush Creek Bridge, he said.

Benton County finished 18 of the 30 projects related to the 2017 floods, said Jay Fraiser, county administrator of public services. The rest will be completed in May.

Fraiser said one of the largest projects has been repairing Snavely Crossing, which will cost more than $1 million. Fraiser said he did not have a total estimate for all the projects.

John Luther, director of emergency management for Washington County, stressed that people need to avoid driving in flooded areas and that most flood-related accidents and deaths are avoidable.

Several of the region’s flood-related deaths involved a vehicle. John and Amy Villines of Harrison died in November after they were swept away in their vehicle in a flash flood. The couple’s vehicle was found lodged against a bridge about a half-mile from Lake Harrison with one window broken out. Authorities believe they escaped the vehicle and rushing water carried them downstream.

Their bodies weren’t discovered until earlier this month nearly 21 and 17 miles downstream from the lake.

Michael Waddle, director of emergency management for Benton County, said it’s important for people to understand that it does not take deep water to cause an accident.

“Just a few inches of water can sweep a vehicle away,” he said.

Luther added that driving into flooded areas also puts emergency responders’ safety at risk for something that could easily be avoided in most cases.

Additionally, he said emergency responders receive several calls during severe weather events, and while they will do everything they can, there is a finite number of emergency responders and vehicles.

“When seconds count, we are minutes away,” he said.

Luther advised people to be prepared for severe weather by having an emergency plan in place, keeping a week’s worth of food and other supplies including medications on hand, and keeping a change of clothes and a blanket in one’s car.

“Be proactive, not reactive,” Luther said.

Waddle said he always expects seasonal floods and emergency services work to mitigate flood damage by removing debris from waterways and generally working to improve infrastructure.

One warning sign of possible flooding is the lake water level. Mike Biggs of the Little Rock district of the U.S. Corps of Engineers said Beaver Lake is “in really good shape.” Biggs said he expects the corps will have to release some water from Beaver by lifting up the 40-by-30-foot gates at the dam as its water level gets too high.

Biggs explained Beaver Lake is a part of a six-lake system that includes Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork, Greers Ferry and Clearwater Lakes.

“Due to the water control plan, Beaver Lake fills first and empties last,” he said.

When water has to be released from Beaver Lake, it flows into Table Rock Lake through about eight miles of river between the two.

Patrick Marsh, warning coordinator meteorologist for the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said preparation is key for severe weather season.

“You don’t want to wait until a tornado warning is issued to figure out what to do,” he said.

People should know beforehand where the safest place is at home, work or school to take shelter, he said. That place should be as close to the ground, if not underground, as possible and with as many walls between people and outside.

The likelihood of being killed in a tornado is relatively low as long as people take shelter, Marsh said. People are more likely to die from lightning strikes or flooding than tornadoes. The best way to avoid being struck by lightning is to seek shelter in a building or vehicle and not under a tree, he said.

Marsh said it’s also important to remember that children should not play in drainage ditches full of water after a thunderstorm.

“You do not know where that water came from,” he said.

The water could sweep small children away and can also be full of bacteria that could make them sick, he said.

“You don’t want to wait until a tornado warning is issued to figure out what to do.”

— Patrick Marsh, meteorologist