Flash-flood watches are in effect Monday for 31 state counties in central, eastern, north-central and western Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service in Little Rock.
The counties where conditions may lead to flash flooding are: Baxer, Boone, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Fulton, Garland, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Logan, Lonoke, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Newton, Perry, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren, White, Woodruff and Yell.
The watches are set to begin Monday night and end Tuesday night, the weather service says.
Flood warnings are also in effect for the White River at Augusta, affecting White and Woodruff counties, and the Cache River near Patterson, affecting Jackson and Woodruff counties, according to the weather service. The warnings denote that minor flooding is occurring along both rivers and more is expected as rain continues to fall over the next few days.
Several rounds of thunderstorms are expected in north and central Arkansas until Wednesday, according to the weather service. Warning Coordination Meteorologist John Robinson said rainfall Monday and Tuesday afternoons and evenings will likely average 1 to 3 inches.
"The most likely time for the heavy rain will be from late tonight (most likely after midnight) through Tuesday night," Robinson wrote in an email Monday. "Some heavy rain could last into Wednesday, especially during the morning, but if it does, it will be in southern Arkansas, which has not received much rain recently."