Flood, Clay
- When
- March 1, 4:00 AM CST to March 10, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clay forecast zone
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 36.368, -90.417 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Arkansas, March 1 to 10, 1997
Excessive rainfall along with previous high levels on the Mississippi river produced flooding in portions of eastern Arkansas. In Poinsett county, 18 bridges were washed out.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $1.8 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.
Excessive rainfall along with previous high levels on the Mississippi river produced flooding in portions of eastern Arkansas. In Poinsett county, 18 bridges were washed out. Close to 100 homes were flooded in the area.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Craighead
- When
- March 1, 4:00 AM CST to March 10, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Craighead forecast zone
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Coordinates
- 35.831, -90.633 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Poinsett
- When
- March 1, 4:00 AM CST to March 10, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Poinsett forecast zone
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Coordinates
- 35.574, -90.663 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Mississippi
- When
- March 1, 4:00 AM CST to March 10, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Mississippi forecast zone
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 35.764, -90.054 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, March 1 to 6, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flooding in Tennessee, March 1 to 11, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, March 1 to 2, 1997
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, March 1, 1997
More
Every storm in Arkansas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, March 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: 5595080, 5595081, 5595082, 5595083.