Wet weather causes delays for farmers, road work

Arkansas recorded its third-wettest winter since record-keeping began in the 1880s, which has created minor headaches for highway maintenance crews, construction companies and farmers.

The state received an average rainfall total of 20.01 inches from December through February, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. That total was 3.77 inches fewer than the all-time mark of 23.78, established during the winter of 1931-32.

Excessive precipitation wasn’t unique to Arkansas this winter. Low-elevation rains and unusually heavy mountain snows during February resulted in the

wettest winter ever for the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Meteorologist Dennis Cavanaugh of the weather service in North Little Rock said above-average rainfall in December played a large part in Arkansas’ total. Cavanaugh said 7.77 inches of precipitation fell that month, making it the eighth-wettest December on record.

Danny Straessle of the state Department of Transportation said that while there was some flooding, particularly in eastern Arkansas, the wet weather did not have a major impact on highway projects, although it created some delays.

“One I can think of right off hand is the Rodney Parham/I-430 exit in Little Rock,” Straessle said. “We added some lane capacity on the south side, but because of the cold and the wet weather we haven’t been able to replace the temporary striping with permanent markings.”

The greatest impact has been on maintenance, Straessle said.

“The cold and wet don’t allow us to make effective pothole repairs on any of our highways,” he said. “All we can really do during those conditions is pretty much open a bag of asphalt, dump it in the hole, tamp it down and move on to the next one.”

Straessle said the repairs are generally short-lived but have to suffice until the arrival of drier and warmer conditions that are more conducive to permanent repairs.

Shawn Carroll, senior vice president at East Harding Construction, said excessive rainfall can lead to construction problems ranging from minimal to serious, depending on the stage of a project.

“Anything you’re trying to come out of the ground with, like dirt work or trying to get to the point where you can get slabs poured, it has great effect,” Carroll said. “You don’t just lose a day for the rain, but when the ground is saturated like it has been, you can easily lose a day or two for any rain event.”

Once things dry out, construction companies will try different strategies to make up lost time, Carroll said.

“A lot of construction sites are running six or seven days a week to try and be able to maintain a 40-hour schedule,” he said.

Randy Forst of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock said farmers aren’t facing serious problems yet, but they could if the state experiences an unusually wet spring.

“It will delay it, but we’re not in the planting season yet for central Arkansas,” Forst said. “It will be coming up though, next month. So, yes, there’s been a lot of rain and, yes, things are really wet right now, but hopefully we’ll have time to dry out.”

Cavanaugh said the eastern third of the state has received the most rainfall this winter, followed by the central and southwest portions.

Cavanaugh said Little Rock received 20.51 inches between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28. That was 8.33 inches above the average of 12.18 inches. More than half of that total, 10.32 inches, fell in December, making it the fifth-wettest December since 1885, when the National Weather Service began keeping records.

“December helped us stay well above normal, that’s for sure,” Cavanaugh said.

Jonesboro received 19.92 inches of rain during that period and Pine Bluff received 18.27 inches, according to the weather service. Cavanaugh said normal rainfall during that time is 11.92 inches for Jonesboro and 13.26 for Pine Bluff.

Farther southeast, Monticello received 23.11 inches from December through February, almost 8 inches above the normal 15.3 inches.

Northwest Arkansas fared a bit better, with rainfall amounts slightly above normal for winter. Fayetteville received 10.91 inches in the three-month period, just 2.02 inches above normal, according to the weather service.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, the country’s average winter precipitation total was 9.01 inches, 2.22 inches above the 20th-century average.

Winter precipitation marks were set in 19 states. Tennessee recorded its wettest winter, and Wisconsin experienced its second-wettest winter, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Above-average precipitation was observed across all but five of the lower 48 states, the agency said.

Arkansas should get a chance to dry out some this week, said Jeff Hood, a forecaster for the weather service office in North Little Rock.

“It looks like things are going to be dry with temperatures ranging from normal to slightly below normal for the next week,” Hood said.