A strong storm that moved through the Deep South on Monday and Tuesday dumped more than 3 inches of rain on Arkansas, flooding some highways and cutting off power to thousands of people.
Lightning struck a transmitter on Shinall Mountain in Pulaski County, knocking NOAA Weather Radio station WXJ-55 off the air for the next several days, according to the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock, which normally broadcasts 24 hours a day over the station.
Justin Condry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said people with weather radios who live in west Little Rock should be able to pick up the signal from a transmitter near Morrilton until the one on Shinall Mountain is repaired.
Condry said the storm didn't bring 4 to 6 inches of rain to southeast Arkansas as predicted, but it rained over a wider swath of the state.
Over a 30-hour period ending at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Pine Bluff got the most rain with 3.77 inches, according to the weather service. It was followed by Arkadelphia with 3.72 inches, Little Rock with 3.3 inches and El Dorado with 3.27 inches.
Condry said the storm was moving out of the state at mid-afternoon Tuesday and that any additional precipitation would be minimal.
High water prompted the temporary closure of highways in Arkansas, Lee and Lincoln counties, but all were expected to reopen by dark on Tuesday as the water receded, said Ellen Coulter, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Transpiration.
Several roads in Pulaski County were closed because of flooding or fallen trees, according to the county's Twitter page. Workers were in the process of removing a large tree from Lawson Road late Tuesday afternoon.
"Road will open as soon as possible," according to the tweet.
Entergy Arkansas reported more than 8,000 people without electricity at one point on Tuesday. By late afternoon, the number of outages was down to 725.
"We had a peak of 8,603 but are working to bring that down," Brandi Hinkle, a spokeswoman for Entergy Arkansas, said in an email early Tuesday afternoon. "With the continued wind and rain, our outages are fluctuating. As we make repairs, other outages are occurring."
She said wind and rain hampered the efforts on Tuesday morning. Hinkle said there was a large number of outages in the west Little Rock area because of lines down from wind, and from lightning damage.
Outages in south Arkansas were more widespread but fewer in number, she said.
Hinkle said the utility hoped to have all outages restored by 10 p.m. Tuesday. She said the company's online outage map had been overloaded and incorrect during much of the day Tuesday.
"Individuals can get the best estimated restoration time in the app or by signing up for text alerts for their service address," she said in an email.
Entergy Arkansas has about 722,000 customers in Arkansas.
The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas had about 1,500 without power at mid-afternoon Tuesday, said Rob Roedel, a spokesman. By late Tuesday afternoon, only 23 were still without power.
The cooperatives have about 600,000 members.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a small craft advisory for the Arkansas River because of rainfall in eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas. Small craft advisories are issued when flows exceed 70,000 cubic feet per second. Strong currents and large debris can threaten the safety of pleasure craft during high flows.
River flows upstream of Van Buren have risen above 90,000 cubic feet per second, according to the Corps. Flows exceeding that amount will make their way downstream over the next few days. Additional rainfall may push flows higher, according to the Corps.
The storm will usher in colder temperatures, according to the Weather Service. Lows today are forecast to range from the mid-30s in Northwest Arkansas to the upper-40s in east Arkansas.
High temperatures across most of the state will struggle to reach the 40s and 50s today. But a warming trend is on the way, with high temperatures across most of Arkansas in the 60s on Friday.