Record rainfall caused river flooding in southwest Arkansas. The Ouachita River and tributaries experienced the highest stages since 1990 and caused Lake Greeson to go over the uncontrolled spillway for only the second time in the history of the reservoir.
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 LZK wrote it up.
Record rainfall caused river flooding in southwest Arkansas. The Ouachita River and tributaries experienced the highest stages since 1990 and caused Lake Greeson to go over the uncontrolled spillway for only the second time in the history of the reservoir. The last episode for a spill occurred in 1968.
Murfreesboro, Malvern, Leola, and Fordyce set new records for the wettest May ever recorded in those cities.
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 May 4, 3:00 AM CST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 400 AM CDT MON MAY 4 2009 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT LINGERING FNTL BNDRY WAS LOCATED JUST S OF AR EARLY THIS MRNG. PLENTY OF LOW LVL MOISTURE STILL IN PLACE ACRS THE FA...WITH PTCHY FOG AND LGT RAIN/DRIZZLE NOTED AT SOME LOCATIONS. MODELS INDC THAT MOISTURE WL RMN QUITE ABUNDANT FOR MOST OF THE DAY ACRS AR...SO PLAN TO LOWER MAX TEMPS A FEW DEGREES COMPARED TO GOING FCST. WL KEEP A MENTION OF LGT DRIZZLE IN FOR A FEW HRS THIS MRNG AS WELL. THE FNTL BNDRY S OF AR WL BEGIN LIFT BACK NWD LATE TNGT AND TUE IN RESPONSE TO A DVLPG STORM SYS IN THE SRN PLAINS. MODELS RMN FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH DVLP AN MCS OVR OK ON TUE WHERE INCRSG LIFT/WAA PATTERN WL BE MAXIMIZED. THIS ACTIVITY IS PROGGED TO WORK EWD INTO AR LATE TUE AND TUE NGT. LOCALLY HVY RAIN WL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE. STILL SOME DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE MODELS WITH THE LOCATION OF THE AXIS OF HEAVIEST RAINFALL...SO HAVE USED A BLEND OF THE MODELS AND NCEP GUIDANCE. PRECIP WL LINGER INTO EARLY WED WITH DIMINISHING RAIN CHCS LATER IN THE DAY AS THE UPR SUPPORT SHIFTS E OF THE REGION. WEAK RDG OF HIGH PRES WL SETTLE OVR THE MID SOUTH FOR WED NGT AND MOST OF THU. A NEW STORM SYSTEM WL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SCTD SHRA/TSRA TO THE FA LATE THU AND THU NGT. && .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY WHILE THERE ARE SOME MINOR MODEL DISCREPANCIES...OVERALL TREND IS WELL RESOLVED. FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE STATE FRIDAY...AND WILL STALL SOMEWHERE ACROSS SOUTHERN ARKANSAS SATURDAY. THERE ARE SOME TIMING DIFFERENCES...AND HAVE KEPT POPS IN FOR SATURDAY DUE TO THIS. FRONT THEN WEAKENS AS UPPER ENERGY MOVES ACROSS THE NORTHEAST STATES...AND DID NOT INCLUDE POPS FOR SUNDAY. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...44 / LONG TERM...58
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CDT MON MAY 4 2009 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-051000- 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- 500 AM CDT MON MAY 4 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL RETURN TO THE STATE TUESDAY...AS A THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX DEVELOPS OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND MOVES EAST. UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEK...AS ANOTHER FRONT WILL MEANDER AROUND THE STATE FOR SEVERAL DAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 58
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy to record rainfall produced river flooding along the Ouachita River that had not been experienced since 1990. Numerous parks, county and state roads, and private residences were flooded.
The stage at Camden remained above flood stage from the 4th of May into June. The crest of the river was the highest since flooding in 1990. Numerous cabins along the high banks of the river were impacted by inundation or isolation. County roads also suffered damage.
Heavy rainfall caused the need to open Remmel Dam and make extraordinary releases. Some county roads in Hot Spring County were impacted.
County roads in southern Clark County were impacted by high Ouachita River stages. The Ouachita River was over flood stage from May 6th until the 8th of the month.
Heavy rainfall in the basin pushed the Saline River at the gage near Rye above flood stage for most of the month of May. Numerous recreational cabins and primary residences were impacted by inundation or isolation. County and state roads also suffered damage. The crest at the gage was the 6th highest of record and the highest stage since 1987.
Within Drew County, flooding of the Saline River damaged roads and impacted cabins along the river. A few structures were impacted north of the Longview community at the Arkansas Highway 8 bridge, near Gee's Landing, and Ozment Bluff. About 3 to 5 structures were impacted by the high river stages. County roads in the flood plain of southwest Drew county were also impacted.
Within Bradley County, flooding of the Saline River damaged roads and impacted cabins and residences along the river. Major impacts were noted in the Longview community in southeastern Bradley County at the Arkansas Highway 8 bridge. As many as 25 structures were impacted by the high river stages.
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: 171978, 171980, 171968, 171976, 171983, 171986, 171984.