Flash Flooding in Arkansas, April 5, 1997

Name: Flash Flooding in Arkansas, April 5, 1997
Start: 1997-04-05T04:00
End: 1997-04-05T08:00
Location: Arkansas

April 5, 1997 · NWS MEG · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

3 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $9,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Poinsett

When: April 5, 4:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Poinsett County, Harrisburg
Property damage: $6,000
Coordinates: 35.574, -90.663 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Nearly 6 inches of rain fell over northeast Arkansas. This produced flash flooding across Craighead, Poinsett and Mississippi counties. In Craighead counties, sixteen homes were damaged. In Poinsett county, sixteen homes were damaged in Harrisburg and forty-two homes were damaged in Truman. In Mississippi county, several homes were flooded in Blytheville and Gosnell.

Flash Flood, Craighead

When: April 5, 4:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Craighead County, Bono
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 35.831, -90.633 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Mississippi

When: April 5, 4:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Mississippi County, Gosnell
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.764, -90.054 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, April 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5595267, 5595268, 5595269.