At least five people died in Arkansas in weekend storms that spawned one tornado and caused widespread flooding across the northern half of the state. Also, officials continued searching Sunday for two Madison County children missing after their mother's car was swept off a low-water bridge Saturday.
Storms raked the state Saturday night and early Sunday, dumping up to 8 inches of rain in some areas, sending rivers out of their banks. The Spring, Black and White rivers, already swollen from rains last week, continued to rise Sunday, forcing residential evacuations.
The storms knocked out electrical service to nearly 80,000 Arkansans over the two-day period, with much of the power disruption in Boone, Craighead, Mississippi and Pulaski counties.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared a state of emergency for Arkansas on Sunday afternoon.
"Our prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones in the heavy rain and storms last night," Hutchinson said in a news release. "I declared a state of emergency for Arkansas to ensure that we have in place available resources to assist counties affected by last night's storms."
The National Weather Service is forecasting more rain for the state Wednesday and Thursday, adding to officials' concerns about continued flooding.
"We're still good now," Black Rock Mayor Bonnie Ragsdale said of the rising Black River in her Lawrence County town. "But if we get more rain, we could be in trouble."
The Black River in Pocahontas is expected to crest Friday at a record high, topping a mark set in 2011 when levees broke and flooded homes in the eastern part of the Randolph County town.
Police say the five deaths in the state were all weather-related.
Rescuers in DeWitt found Julie Schwede, 65, crushed beneath a tree that fell on her home Saturday. Emergency workers pronounced her dead after pulling her from under the branches, according to police.
Several hours later, emergency personnel in Springdale found the body of a 10-year-old girl who authorities said was swept away by floodwaters about 8 p.m. Saturday. The girl and her brother climbed a fence near Pontchartrain Street in Springdale, police said in a news release. A surging creek carried the girl downstream near Lowell Road and Randall Wobbe Lane, where her body was found after a four-hour search.
Flooding also claimed the life of a 24-year-old woman in Eureka Springs, Fire Chief Nick Samac said. Friends told police that the woman was inner-tubing in Leatherwood Creek when she vanished under a bridge. Samac said the rescuers found her body at 9:30 a.m. Sunday about a half-mile from where friends last saw her.
The Cove Creek Pearson fire chief, Doug Deckard, 51, was killed while inspecting waterlines on Arkansas 25 west of the Faulkner and Cleburne county line. He was struck by a truck that had run off the road, said Arkansas State Police spokesman Liz Chapman.
In a statement posted to its Facebook page Sunday, the Cleburne County sheriff's office lauded Deckard for his community service.
"He was a wonderful member of our community, and his kindness, work ethic and enthusiasm will be sorely missed," the message read. "His willingness to serve our community should be a shining example to all of us."
In Washington County, deputies found the body of John Vollmar, 75, of Fayetteville in his car Sunday afternoon in a field off Arkansas 16. The car, which had been submerged by water after heavy rains in the area, was discovered when the water receded.
Rescue workers in Madison County continued searching Sunday for a 4-year-old boy and 18-month-old girl who disappeared when their mother's vehicle was washed off a low-water bridge near Hindsville. The 38-year-old mother told police that she tried to save her children, but the strong current separated them.
Searchers in Newton County suspended their search for a man who fell into the Buffalo National River after his canoe overturned Wednesday. Newton County sheriff's Deputy Glenn Wheeler said the river's current was too strong, and the search would resume once the river receded.
Heavy rains fell much of Saturday over the northern half of the state as a cold front pushed through, clashing with warm Gulf Coast moisture, said meteorologist Joe Goudsward with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.
The weather system was originally expected to stall over the Ozark Mountains in western Arkansas, but instead slowed in eastern Oklahoma. It then wobbled into Arkansas and then to south-central Missouri, where 10-12 inches of rain fell.
"It was slow to move, but once it did, it got going," Goudsward said. "We saw a band of rain form that advanced the front and then another round of rain when it came through." The area along the Arkansas-Missouri border "got a one-two punch," he said.
Georgetown in White County received 7.82 inches of rain in 24 hours, and North Little Rock received 5.45 inches Saturday into Sunday morning. Jonesboro and Mountain Home each measured 5 inches of rain, and Fayetteville recorded 4.5 inches.
Some isolated areas received up to 8 inches, Goudsward said.
The storm system Saturday also spawned a tornado in Boone County.
A National Weather Service team surveyed damage near Bellefonte about 4 miles southeast of Harrison and confirmed that an EF1 twister with wind speeds up to 110 mph struck a home, injuring one person.
Boone County Office of Emergency Management Director Daniel Bolen said teams conducted three swift-water rescues Saturday evening, including one of a pregnant woman whose car was swept off a low-water bridge on Arkansas 7 and Hudson Road East.
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department reported that 85 state and federal highways were closed because of high water Sunday. Also, shortly after noon Sunday, authorities began detouring vehicles on U.S. 67/167 between Jacksonville and Cabot, when Jacks Bayou began overflowing onto the roadway. The highway was reopened Sunday evening.
In Hardy, officials evacuated residents along the Spring River on Sunday morning as the river rose to 16.6 feet. Flood stage there is 10 feet.
"We knew this was coming, so we planned ahead," said Police Chief Tamara Taylor. "This didn't turn into a rescue effort. We were ahead of the game this time.
"It didn't get us," she said.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery flew in the county's helicopter Sunday morning over Norfork Lake to check on flooding.
"We've been advising people to leave their homes," he said. "It's not a mandatory evacuation, but if more water comes, it will get worse."
Heavy rains farther north ran off into Norfork Lake, causing it to fill rapidly. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water from the lake Sunday morning at 50,000 cubic feet per second, said Corps spokesman Laurie Driver.
"Norfork took the brunt of the rain," she said. "When Mother Nature wants to dump water, she does a good job of it."
Norfork Lake feeds into the White River basin. The White River at Batesville is expected to crest at 24 feet this evening. Flood stage there is 15 feet. The river reached 24 feet on Dec. 29, 2015. Downstream, the White River is forecast to reach 32 feet in Newport on Wednesday morning and Arkansas highways 14, 37, 69 and 367 could see water reach the roadways.
In Pocahontas, the Black River is expected to rise to 29.4 feet Friday morning, topping the previous record of 28.5 feet set on April 28, 2011.
David Jansen, county judge for Randolph County, said he will meet with levee board members and Corps of Engineers officials this morning.
Anything above 28 feet will spill over the top of the levees, Jansen said.
"It's not good. Not good," he said. "We haven't been tested like this ever before. Our levees aren't built for 29 feet. We've got our hands full."
He said he expects a mandatory evacuation of a residential area and a nursing home just south of the Black River in east Pocahontas to be issued later this week.
Farther north, across the border into Missouri, up to 10 inches of rain fell Saturday and Sunday. The Current River at Doniphan will top its record high at 5 p.m. this evening, the National Weather Service said. The river is expected to crest at 39.3 feet, breaking the 26.8 feet record set on March 1, 1904. Flood stage there is 13 feet. Missouri Department of Transportation officials closed the Current River bridge in Doniphan on Sunday afternoon when water began topping the roadway.
Upstream, the Current River will reach 43 feet this morning in Van Buren, Mo. The previous record there of 29 feet was set on March 29, 1904.
The Current River eventually flows into the Black River north of Pocahontas.
Most of Arkansas saw clearing skies by Sunday afternoon, but more storms are forecast for later this week.
The weather service said another system is expected to enter the state Tuesday evening, bringing more rain through Thursday.
A Section on 05/01/2017