Excessive heavy rainfall fell across southeast Oklahoma into southwest Arkansas once again during the mid morning through the afternoon hours of May 12th. it did not take much rainfall to result in the closure of streets, county roads and farm to market roads.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 episode as NWS SHV wrote it up.
Excessive heavy rainfall fell across southeast Oklahoma into southwest Arkansas once again during the mid morning through the afternoon hours of May 12th. An additional two to four inches were common across the region and with very saturated soils...it did not take much rainfall to result in the closure of streets, county roads and farm to market roads.
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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 8:44 AM CST, 4 hours 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
944 AM CDT TUE MAY 12 2009
.DISCUSSION...
CANCELLED SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF FLOOD WATCH. RAINFALL HAS NOT
OCCURRED ACROSS MOST OF THIS AREA FOR AT LEAST 20 HOURS...SO
PLENTY OF TIME FOR RUNOFF. ONE HOUR FFG VALUES HAVE RISEN ABOVE 2
INCHES. SCATTERED TSTMS...FROM CENTRAL OK...MOVG INTO CURRENT
REMAINING FLOOD WATCH. WARM FRONT...WITH NEAR 70 DEWPOINTS SOUTH
OF FRONT...WILL MOVE NORTHWARD ACROSS AREA THIS AFTN...SO EXPECT
SCT TSTMS WITH THIS FRONT DURING HEATING ONCE CLOUDS BREAK AND
TEMPS REACH ABOVE 80. BUT AS FRONT MOVING FAST...FOCUS WILL NOT
REMAIN OVER ANY ONE AREA...DIMINISHING FLOOD THREAT./VII/
&&
.AVIATION...
ABUNDANT MOISTURE OVER AREA SO LOW CIGS AND VISIBILITIES SLOW TO
IMPROVE. EXPECT TO SEE MOSTLY MVFR CONDITIONS BY EARLY AFTERNOON.
WINDS BECOMING SOUTHEAST AT 5-10 KTS. HEATING DURING THE PM WILL
RESULT IN DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WHICH WILL MAINLY
AFFECT TXK/ELD AND MLU TERMINALS SO WILL MENTION VCTS AT THOSE
LOCATIONS. OTHERWISE...LOOK FOR MVFR/IFR CEILINGS TO RETURN ONCE
AGAIN LATE TONIGHT AFTER MIDNIGHT...POSSIBLY MAKING IT AS FAR NORTH
AS THE I-20 CORRIDOR BY SUNRISE WEDNESDAY MORNING. /01/
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SHV 83 70 89 68 86 / 40 20 10 10 20
MLU 81 68 88 67 87 / 40 20 10 10 20
DEQ 76 64 87 66 84 / 50 20 10 30 30
TXK 76 68 87 68 85 / 50 20 10 30 30
ELD 78 68 88 67 85 / 50 20 10 20 30
TYR 83 70 88 69 86 / 30 20 10 10 20
GGG 83 70 88 68 87 / 30 20 10 10 20
LFK 87 70 89 69 87 / 20 10 10 10 20
&&
.SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073.
LA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: LAZ004-006.
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: OKZ077.
TX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: TXZ096-097.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 1200 PM CDT TUE MAY 12 2009 ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ004-006-OKZ077-TXZ096-097-131100- BOWIE-CLAIBORNE-COLUMBIA-HEMPSTEAD-HOWARD-LAFAYETTE-LITTLE RIVER- MCCURTAIN-MILLER-NEVADA-RED RIVER TX-SEVIER-UNION AR-UNION LA- 1200 PM CDT TUE MAY 12 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH ARKANSAS... EXTREME NORTHCENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND EXTREME NORTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION TODAY MOVING SOUTHEASTWARD...ALONG A NORTHWARD LIFTING SURFACE WARM FRONT...SOUTH OF I-20 AT THIS TIME. SIGNIFICANT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT MAY OCCUR POTENTIALLY BRINGING MORE AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL DURING THE AFTERNOON. FLASH FLOODING WILL BE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT WITH AN ADDITIONAL ONE TO THREE INCHES OF RAINFALL POSSIBLE OVER ALREADY RAIN SOAKED AREAS...THE MAIN THREAT OF FLOODING WILL OCCUR ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN MCCURTAIN COUNTY...AND ADJACENT PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 7. HOWEVER...SEVERE WEATHER DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO THE AREA DURING THE WEEKEND. ALTHOUGH EXCESSIVE RAINFALL IS NOT EXPECTED... SOME RUNOFF IS POSSIBLE DURING BRIEFER PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AS THE GROUND MAY STILL REMAIN MOIST. SO...ALTHOUGH NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...TRENDS WILL BE MONITORED AS THE WEEKEND APPROACHES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED FOR THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. HOWEVER...EMERGENCY MANAGERS WILL NEED TO MONITOR FLOODING POTENTIAL IF HEAVY RAINFALL MOVE INTO THEIR AREAS. LAZ001>003-005-010>014-017>022-TXZ108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153- 165>167-131100- ANGELINA-BIENVILLE-BOSSIER-CADDO-CALDWELL-CAMP-CASS-CHEROKEE-DE SOTO- FRANKLIN-GRANT-GREGG-HARRISON-JACKSON-LA SALLE-LINCOLN-MARION-MORRIS- NACOGDOCHES-NATCHITOCHES-OUACHITA-PANOLA-RED RIVER LA-RUSK-SABINE LA- SABINE TX-SAN AUGUSTINE-SHELBY-SMITH-TITUS-UPSHUR-WEBSTER-WINN-WOOD- 1200 PM CDT TUE MAY 12 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH LOUISIANA AND NORTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION TODAY MOVING SOUTHEASTWARD...ALONG A NORTHWARD LIFTING SURFACE WARM FRONT...SOUTH OF I-20 AT THIS TIME. ALTHOUGH BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OCCUR...THIS FRONT WILL MOVE NORTH OF THE AREA QUICKLY ENOUGH TO PREVENT PERIODS OF PROLONGED HEAVY RAINFALL. NEITHER FLOODING NOR SEVERE WEATHER APPEAR TO BE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO THE AREA DURING THE WEEKEND. ALTHOUGH NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...TRENDS WILL BE MONITORED AS THE WEEKEND APPROACHES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED FOR THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. VII
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 154 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:03 UTC.
4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Local radio station reporting that the flooding was becoming excessive with numerous road closures in town.
Widespread flooding and road closures were again quite numerous across the southern portion of the county.
Extensive flooding was reported across the county which resulted in several road closures.
Extensive flooding continuing with many city streets and secondary roads leading out of town flooded and closed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, May 2009
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: 170549, 170547, 170548, 170550.