As overflowing waterways began to recede for much of the state Sunday, some areas downstream have yet to reach full crest -- leaving flood warnings still in effect, according to meteorologists.
In Little Rock, the Arkansas River was at 24 feet Sunday afternoon, down from a high of 24.9 feet on Saturday. The river should fall below flood stage -- which is 23 feet -- today, said Julie Lesko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.
"Thankfully, we seem to be past the worst of it. Most places will fall below flood stages beginning early this week and working its way downstream later this week," Lesko said. "The river still has yet to crest at Pine Bluff, then at Pendleton, though. It will be creeping up a little more over the next 12 or more hours."
The Pine Bluff levees were being patrolled, and residences in Island Harbor Estates just north of the city were inundated with water, according to the weather service.
Zach Maye, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Memphis, said the Mississippi River is expected to crest later this week as water from the Midwest flows downstream. Currently, Osceola is creeping toward flood stage, which is at 28 feet, and is expected to crest by the middle of the week at 40.5 feet, Maye said.
Helena-West Helena will likely reach flood stage -- 44 feet -- by today and is expected to reach 49 feet at crest later this week. Arkansas City could also see significant flooding when the river reaches 57 feet, 20 feet above flood stage of 37 feet, Maye said.
"It's going to impact those farmlands in these areas, inside of the levees," Maye said.
Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde said that by Sunday most of the barricades on county roads had been removed, with the exception of Pinnacle Valley and County Farm roads.
"The county and city have cooperated very well together and have made folks aware of the water coming up and steering people away from those areas," Hyde said. "I really think this is as good as we could do with the rains and rising river. I worry as this winter season comes through and the forecast calling for it to be colder and wetter than usual. Let's hope this is not an ongoing issue."
Many of the parks and trails along the river in Pulaski County are closed or portions blocked off, forcing cyclists and runners to find alternate routes.
Two Rivers Park, a popular 1,000-acre tract in Little Rock at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Maumelle rivers that includes paths for walking, bicycling and horseback riding, as well as picnic areas, is inaccessible because of the flooding.
Parts of Burns Park in North Little Rock, as well as various spots along the 88-mile-long Arkansas River Trail -- which loops through Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle and Conway -- are blocked. Many cyclists in Little Rock normally use the nearly 16-mile loop from the Clinton Presidential Bridge to the Big Dam Bridge and back.
Hyde -- an avid cyclist who is currently on a hiatus as he heals from a pulled back muscle -- said a good alternative route is the newly opened southeast part of the Arkansas River Trail that loops from the Clinton Presidential Library to the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.
Some trail users, however, are enjoying the change in scenery the alternate routes bring.
"It's just amazing," John Anderson, 23, of Little Rock said Sunday as he and his friend, Forrest Goss, 23, of Little Rock were taking a break in front of the William E. "Bill" Clark Presidential Park Wetlands on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Library.
"I've never seen the river this high in my life," Anderson said, adding that they've had to cut their route short and double back to make up their mileage goal because of the flooding.
Goss looked across the river to where the water was touching the railroad bridge's underbelly on the North Little Rock side.
"I am looking forward to being that close to the water," Goss said. "It's a little inconvenient because of the flooding, but it's nice. We don't get to see it like this every day."
Nearly all of the wetlands trail was submerged; only the rooftops of pavilions were visible as the river's accelerated current raced by.
Larry Vaught, 68, who lives near the park, said that while spring flooding was bad, he felt Sunday's river level was even higher.
"The way I judge the water level is by how much of the roof is under water," Vaught said of one the pavilions, which doubled as a turtle perch Sunday afternoon. "This is a little higher. A little more of the roof is under water."
Aretha Adams, 51, of North Little Rock spent Sunday afternoon with her family marveling at high water levels near the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock. The family attempted to survey the flooding from Cooks Landing Park on the river's north shore, but water swallowed the park's ramps and access roads.
On the south shore, the water crept to within a few yards of walking paths at La Harpe View Park, bringing with it bundles of fallen timber.
Adams said her father, Robert Calvin, 71, was amazed by the floodwaters.
Calvin, who Adams said suffers from dementia, looked out at the swollen river Sunday and recalled the 1970s flood when the water level rose almost to the surface of the bridges that connected the north and south sides of the Arkansas River between Little Rock and North Little Rock.
Adams said that as much as she enjoyed the family's Sunday outing, she hopes the torrential rains that caused the river's rise stay away for a few more weeks.
"If we get any more rain, we're going to be in big trouble," she said.
There is no rain in the immediate forecast, according to the weather service. However, many of the flood warnings for the state are still in effect, including ones for the Arkansas River at Dardanelle, Morrilton, Toad Suck Lock and Dam, Little Rock and Pine Bluff.
Toad Suck Park was still completely under water as of Sunday, as floodwaters began to recede in Faulkner County.
There is also a flood warning for the Fourche La Fave River near Houston in Perry County, which stood at 35 feet Sunday -- 10 feet above flood stage. Roads around Harris Brake Lake are flooded, extending from Arkansas River upstream of Harris Brake.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has declared 38 of Arkansas' 75 counties as disaster areas. At least one death in the state and about two dozen deaths nationally have been attributed to the flooding.
The search is continuing in Oklahoma for missing country music singer and Arkansas native Craig Strickland, 29.
Strickland disappeared during severe storms a week ago Sunday while duck hunting with his friend Chase Morland. Their capsized boat was found Dec. 27, along with Strickland's dog, which was alive. Morland's body was found Dec. 28.
Numerous homes in the state were damaged, as well as parks, roadways and agricultural areas.
"There will be an awful lot of cleanup that we'll have to do once the water recedes," Hyde said. "When the floods came in the spring, folks really rose up and helped. We brought the sweeper trucks out. When the water receded, the soccer fields and all those trails were covered with as much as an inch of sand and silt. Word got out and a bunch of folks came together to put it all back together."
Metro on 01/04/2016