Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has proclaimed the week of March 1st through 7th as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Arkansas.
During Severe Weather Awareness Week the National Weather Service is asking people to think about what they would do and where they would go when severe weather threatens.
There will be a particular subject discussed each day.
Monday- Severe Thunderstorms
Tuesday- Methods of Receiving Severe Weather Information
Wednesday- Tornadoes
Thursday- Lightning
Friday- Flash Floods
FRIDAY – FLASH FLOODS
Please take some time to review our emergency procedures for severe weather and see the information below from the National Weather Service Little Rock office.
FLASH FLOODING IS USUALLY CAUSED BY VERY SLOW-MOVING THUNDERSTORMS…OR THUNDERSTORMS THAT REPEATEDLY MOVE OVER THE SAME AREAS.
URBAN SETTINGS ARE ESPECIALLY PRONE TO FLASH FLOODS DUE TO LARGE AMOUNTS OF CONCRETE AND ASPHALT SURFACES THAT DO NOT ALLOW WATER TO PENETRATE INTO THE SOIL.
PLACES SURROUNDED BY STEEP…HILLY TERRAIN ARE ALSO SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLASH FLOODS DUE TO RAPID RUNOFF /WATER MOVING DOWNHILL AT ELEVATED SPEEDS/ INTO STREAMS AND CREEKS.
IN THE LAST 30 YEARS…FLASH FLOODING WAS THE DEADLIEST THUNDERSTORM HAZARD…AND CAUSED MORE FATALITIES THAN TORNADOES AND LIGHTNING. THERE ARE AN AVERAGE OF 90 FATALITIES ANNUALLY DUE TO FLASH FLOODS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
ROUGHLY HALF OF FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR WHEN PEOPLE TRY TO DRIVE THROUGH FLOODED AREAS. MOVING WATER TWO FEET DEEP IS SUFFICIENT TO CARRY AWAY MOST VEHICLES…EVEN PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES.
IN ARKANSAS…MOST OF THE MAJOR FLASH FLOODS OCCUR AT NIGHT WHEN THE DANGER IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO SEE. IN 2010… THE LITTLE MISSOURI RIVER ROSE MORE THAN 20 FEET DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS OF JUNE 11TH. THIS WAS AFTER MORE THAN HALF A FOOT OF RAIN. CAMPERS AT THE ALBERT PIKE RECREATION AREA /MONTGOMERY COUNTY/ WERE AWAKENED TO RAGING WATER…AND 20 PEOPLE DROWNED.
…FLASH FLOOD SAFETY RULES…
YOU SHOULD KNOW WHICH PLACES IN YOUR AREA ARE PRONE TO FLOODING…AND AVOID THESE PLACES IN TIMES OF RISING WATER.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FLOWING STREAMS WHILE DRIVING OR ON FOOT.
IF FLOOD WATERS ARE BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR DESTINATION…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WANTS YOU TO REMEMBER A SIMPLE SLOGAN: TURN AROUND – DONT DROWN.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ARE VERY POPULAR IN ARKANSAS. IF YOU ENJOY CAMPING OR SIMILAR RECREATION…BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL IF YOU SPEND THE NIGHT NEAR STREAMS. A THUNDERSTORM MILES UPSTREAM FROM YOUR LOCATION COULD PRODUCE ENOUGH RAIN TO CAUSE FLOODING…EVEN IF IT IS NOT RAINING MUCH WHERE YOU ARE.
NEVER ALLOW CHILDREN TO PLAY AROUND HIGH WATER…STORM DRAINS…AND CULVERTS.
Information for the page provided by the National Weather Service.