Arkansas will see a brief break in scattered storms today, but gray skies and rain are forecast to return Sunday and linger in the state for at least another week, National Weather Service forecasters said Friday.
While river outfitters say the rain seems to be elongating their season, farmers are off to a slow start with little sun to help their recently planted crops grow.
Scattered storms are expected every day through next week, said Justin Condry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said there should be breaks between the storms allowing for water drainage.
"Most of the state is saturated, but usually our grounds in Arkansas can handle that," Condry said. "We can get water to run off quickly and ready for the next round."
Flash flooding could still be a risk, especially around waterways, Condry said.
There are a handful of spots in the state where rivers are at flood stage heading into the weekend, Condry said. They include segments of the White, Ouachita, Cache and Black rivers.
Entergy Arkansas Inc. has canceled recreational releases from Remmel Dam in Hot Spring County and will restrict vehicle access to the tailrace area over the weekend as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tries to draw Lake Ouachita out of the flood pool in anticipation of the additional rain.
As of 9 a.m. Friday, Lake Ouachita was at 578.67 feet above mean sea level, having dropped 0.13 feet over the previous 24 hours. The full pool level is 578 feet above mean sea level.
Entergy said water releases will exceed 10,000 cubic feet per second throughout the weekend. Such flows could endanger people attempting to float the river and damage vehicles left in the tailrace area of Remmel Dam.
The southern half of the state is likely to see most of the rain with 2-4 inches forecast through Wednesday, Condry said. Northern portions of the state will see 1-2 inches.
"Locally higher amounts are possible," Condry said. "A pop-up thunderstorm could sit over an area. It is definitely something we are monitoring because any time we do get a lot of rain we worry about flash flooding."
Jennifer Sansom, Little River County Agriculture Extension agent, said it has been a hard year for agriculture in that southwestern Arkansas county.
"The majority of our wheat crop is in very bad shape," Sansom said. "We will have lower yields than usual due to the rain. We have some water in the fields right now, and it is making it harder for the farmers to get in and cut the wheat down."
More than just wheat has been affected, Sansom said. She said most crops in the county are struggling.
The rain made it difficult for farmers to apply fungicides, as well. Crops are seeing funguses such as fusarium head blight, wheat leaf rust, root rot and black point.
"The majority of the corn looks good, but cold, wet weather is always difficult for any warm season crop," Sansom said. "Things are a little slow right now. We are operating at a loss right off the bat."
Brandy Carroll, Arkansas Farm Bureau's director of commodity activities and market information, said Friday that the rain has been spotty enough that most farmers in the state have been able to plant their crops.
That hasn't been the case for everyone, she said, adding that aside from wheat farmers, rice farmers have faced some difficulty.
"My dad is a rice and soybean farmer," Carroll said. "For him it has been a frustrating year, but a friend who usually has a frustrating year planted his rice a month earlier than he normally does."
The biggest obstacle this year is lack of sunny days, she said.
"These cloudy, rainy days aren't that great for plant development," Carroll said. "Temperatures have been a little bit below normal."
Overall the crop in Arkansas is looking fairly positive, she said, but it is too soon to say what the results will be.
"The point is, the crop is just now in the ground, and we have a long way to go," she said.
Paul Gardner, operations supervisor at Buffalo River Outfitters in St. Joe, said the rain hasn't affected the floating season so far this year.
"We are still running hard," he said. "We are sold out [Saturday]."
As of Friday, the middle stretch of the Buffalo River was at moderate levels. It was expected to stay runnable through the weekend.
Overall the rain seems to be extending the season, Gardner said.
"It will make for better water later in the year," he said.
Information for this article was contributed by The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs.