As thunderstorms rolled across central Arkansas, various areas began to flood, causing the need for the Little Rock Fire Department to assist approximately a dozen flooded vehicles.
Capt. Jason Weaver said the department has seen flooding in different areas of Little Rock, including southwest, downtown and western parts of the city.
Experts do not expect the localized flooding to increase cresting of Arkansas River flooding. But it will keep the water from receding as quickly, said Tabitha Clarke, a hydrologist with the Little Rock branch of the National Weather Service.
“I mean it’s just going to fall on top of what’s already out there,” Clarke said.
She said the situation would be much worse if the rain had fallen over Oklahoma lakes, where the flooding began before moving downstream the Arkansas River.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s actually not as bad as if it had affected those lakes,” Clarke said.
In central Arkansas, the heaviest rain and flooding has focused between Bryant and Little Rock and in Van Buren County, Clarke said.
“It’s put a lot of people in precarious situations,” Weaver said.
Also in the area between Bryant and Little Rock, Clarke has gotten reports of funnel clouds and fallen trees. Reports of funnel clouds have also come from Randolph County, where trees were downed during the storm.
Clarke said the ground is so saturated that it is easier for trees to fall.
The National Weather Service predicts the storm will move east early Thursday morning, having brought, on average, one to three inches of rain throughout central Arkansas.
“If possible, stay in during the storms, the flooding, and if there’s water across the road, try to find another route,” Weaver said.
Areas where flooding has occurred could gain as much as four inches, Clarke said.
Weaver advised, “just the same warnings if you see water, it doesn’t take much to wash your car away but also driving through it will stall your vehicle.”