Arkansas, 2004

Flash Flooding in Arkansas, July 23, 2004

July 23, 2004 · NWS LZK · 3 events in 1 county or zone

Heavy rainfall across Independence County resulted in flash flooding at several locations. Several city and secondary roads were impassible due to the high water levels.

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
None recorded
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.

What happened

The episode as NWS LZK wrote it up.

Heavy rainfall across Independence County resulted in flash flooding at several locations. Several city and secondary roads were impassible due to the high water levels.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 23, 1:50 PM CST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 1:50 PM CST, 5 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
250 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2004

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS BROKE OUT THIS AFTERNOON...AS A
BOUNDARY ACROSS CENTRAL ARKANSAS INITIATED CONVECTION. COLD FRONT IS
IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS...ALTHOUGH IS IT MAINLY A WIND SHIFT LINE AS
THE DRIER AIR IS STILL IN NORTHERN MISSOURI.

BROAD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION WILL MOVE OFF
TO THE EAST. THIS WILL ALLOW THE FRONT TO MOVE SLOWLY SOUTH THROUGH
THE STATE. GFS LOOKS TO MOVE THE FRONT THROUGH TOO FAST...WHILE THE
ETA LOOKS TOO SLOW. WENT WITH A COMPROMISE...LEANING MORE TOWARD THE
GFS EXCEPT IN QPF AMOUNTS. DO EXPECT HEAVY RAINFALL WITH THIS
SYSTEM...AS PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES ARE OVER 2 INCHES.
HOWEVER...PINPOINTING THE EXACT REGION OF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL DEPEND
ON SMALL FEATURES. AT THIS TIME...THINK THE GREATEST CHANCE OF
SEEING HEAVY RAIN WILL BE IN THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN SECTIONS OF
THE AREA...CLOSER TO THE UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS. DUE TO THE WEAK WIND
FIELDS...STORMS WILL ALSO BE SLOW MOVING.

A COUPLE OF SHORTWAVES WILL MOVE EAST OUT OF THE ROCKIES INTO THE
BASE OF THE TROUGH. THESE WILL BRING MORE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO
THE STATE. AT THIS POINT...HIGHEST RAIN CHANCES WILL BE SATURDAY
INTO SATURDAY EVENING. HOWEVER...DUE TO THE MODEL DISCREPANCIES
...RAINFALL POTENTIAL COULD REMAIN INTO LATE SATURDAY NIGHT. DID NOT
FEEL COMFORTABLE EXTENDING LIKELY POPS THAT FAR OUT DUE TO THE
DIFFERENCES.

RAINFALL WILL GRADUALLY COME TO AN END SUNDAY IN THE NORTH...AND
SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE SOUTH. CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE
REGION ON SUNDAY...BRINGING DRY WEATHER BACK TO THE STATE.
&&

.LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
AREA STAYS DRY TUESDAY WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NORTHEAST
BRINGING A PROLONGED PERIOD OF NORTHEAST TO EAST SURFACE WINDS TO
THE AREA. SHORT WAVE IN DANGEROUS NORTHWEST FLOW MOVES MOSTLY
THROUGH KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA AT FIRST AND APPEARS EFFECTS OF IT WILL
STAY TO THE WEST UNTIL THURSDAY. ON THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...WEAK
CLOSED LOW SWINGS THROUGH SOUTHERN ARKANSAS WITH AN ACCOMPANYING
AREA OF MOISTURE. PUT IN SMALL POPS FOR THURSDAY FOR SOUTHERN HALF
OF THE AREA...CONTINUING THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING...THEN
WENT WITH 30 POPS IN THE SOUTH FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH 20 POPS
ELSEWHERE. MADE LITTLE CHANGE TO TEMP GRIDS. PATTERN FAVORS MAXES A
LITTLE BELOW NORMAL WITH MINS NEAR OR A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
LITTLE ROCK AR    72  88  69  85 /  40  50  30  40
HARRISON AR       66  78  61  80 /  50  60  60  40
HOT SPRINGS AR    72  88  69  86 /  40  50  30  40
PINE BLUFF AR     73  89  70  86 /  40  40  30  40
MOUNTAIN HOME AR  66  78  61  79 /  50  60  60  40
MONTICELLO AR     73  91  71  87 /  30  40  30  40
SEARCY AR         71  86  67  84 /  40  50  40  40
MOUNT IDA AR      72  87  69  86 /  40  50  30  40
RUSSELLVILLE AR   70  84  67  84 /  40  50  40  40
&&

.LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&

58/29
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 23, 2:40 PM CST, 4 hours 10 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
340 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2004

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-241000-
ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND-
CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING-
INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE-
MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE-
PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE-
WOODRUFF-YELL-
340 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT WILL SAG THROUGH NORTHERN PARTS OF ARKANSAS
TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR IN MOST
SECTIONS OF THE STATE. ANY SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD BE LIMITED TO
ISOLATED STORMS BRIEFLY PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OVER SMALL
AREAS. THE STORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVING. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL
HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DROP 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN IN ONLY AN HOUR OR
SO.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THE COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE MOVING SLOWLY THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF
THE STATE SATURDAY. HOWEVER...LOW PRESSURE WILL LINGER BEHIND THE
FRONT...KEEPING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE STATE
THROUGH SUNDAY.

ANY SEVERE WEATHER ON SATURDAY WOULD AGAIN BE LIMITED TO ONLY
ISOLATED STORMS BRIEFLY BECOMING SEVERE. ONCE AGAIN...THE STRONGEST
STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN IN ONLY AN
HOUR OR SO.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

28

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 23, 6:09 PM CST, 41 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
709 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0703 PM     HAIL             7 S MOUNTAIN HOME       36.23N 92.38W
07/23/2004  1.25 INCH        BAXTER             AR   TRAINED SPOTTER

0703 PM     FLASH FLOOD      7 S MOUNTAIN HOME       36.23N 92.38W
07/23/2004                   BAXTER             AR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SPOTTER REPORTED ROADS IN THE AREA LOOKED LIKE LITTLE
            RIVERS.

&&

28
Local storm report, Jul 23, 6:22 PM CST, 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
722 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0710 PM     FLASH FLOOD      2 E BUFORD              36.25N 92.43W
07/23/2004                   BAXTER             AR   PUBLIC

            WOMAN REPORTED HER YARD LOOKED LIKE A LAKE.

&&

28
Local storm report, Jul 23, 6:30 PM CST, 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
730 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0645 PM     HAIL             DESHA                   35.73N 91.68W
07/23/2004  0.75 INCH        INDEPENDENCE       AR   PUBLIC

&&

28

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:48 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Independence

When
July 23, 6:50 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where
Independence County, Oil Trough
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.742, -91.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Independence

When
July 23, 6:50 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where
Independence County, Newark
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.742, -91.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Independence

When
July 23, 6:50 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where
Independence County, Thida
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.742, -91.570 (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

More

Every storm in Arkansas in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, July 2004

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: 5416120, 5416121, 5416122.