Heavy rains moved through the region Wednesday morning, falling on already saturated ground and flooding some streets, and forecasters said more wet weather is on the way.
Jeff Hood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said the threat for flash floods was diminishing before 9 a.m. as rainfall began to move out of western Arkansas and only light-to-moderate rain was expected in central Arkansas. Flash flood warnings, though, were still in effect for parts of central Arkansas through 10 a.m., and streams may continue to rise in western Arkansas, he said.
Parts of western Arkansas got as much as 6 inches of rain Wednesday, while Little Rock was expected to get as much as 4 inches.
The heavy rainfall caused some flash flooding during the morning commute, including on LaHarpe Boulevard in Little Rock. That roadway was closed for a time after floodwaters covered both directions just east of State Street and one vehicle stalled out as it traveled through.
The waters receded there before 7 a.m. and the roadway reopened. No injuries were reported.
KHOG-TV reported that a Lavaca apartment complex was evacuated after it filled with 3 inches of water and that flooding closed Talihina schools on Wednesday. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, meanwhile, listed some roads closed across the state because of flooding at idrivearkansas.com/closures/.
Hood said the flash floods are due in large part to extremely wet weather the state has experienced this month and year. Little Rock was about an inch above normal for May rainfall before Wednesday's rains and is more than 4 inches above normal for the year. Other locations across the state, particularly in western and Northwest Arkansas, have experienced similar rainy conditions.
"The ground has not had a chance to recover," Hood said. "Even if we have a few days of dry weather with the sun shining and the wind blowing, we're still not able to get much moisture out of the ground."
And more rain is expected soon.
Hood said later Wednesday and Thursday should be relatively dry, but additional precipitation will be possible across much of the state over the holiday weekend.
"Unfortunately, rain chances enter the forecast Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday," he said. "As far as widespread, heavy rainfall, we'll probably be able to keep that at bay until later this weekend into next week. But you might have to consider rain in the forecast at least at times this weekend."
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