Central U.S. severe weather: Arkansas River set for historic flooding

Photo: Arkansas National Guard/Facebook

Communities in the Plains and Midwest were bracing for more severe weather Monday — with the National Weather Service warning those along the Arkansas River of a "dangerous and life threatening situation" with "near catastrophic flooding."

Here are the latest forecasts for the various points along the Arkansas River, updated late this evening. Only minor changes noted from earlier this afternoon. #arwx #ARflood19 pic.twitter.com/KqTjX9YLjt

— NWS Little Rock (@NWSLittleRock) May 27, 2019

---

Details: Fort Smith, on the border with Oklahoma, is expected to be one of the worst-hit areas. The NWS warns businesses there to be prepared to be "severely flooded." The Arkansas River reached 38.2 feet near the city Sunday, surpassing the crest of 38.1 feet set in April 1945, AP notes.

• At Van Buren, the river reached 37.59 feet. The NWS forecasts it could rise past the record 38.1 feet, as major flooding continues for days.
• Flooding is also forecast along the Mississippi River, with the NWS predicting severe storms possible by Tuesday night. The river has already crested and hit major flooding stages in several parts, the Belleville News Democrat reports, and it's set to rise further over the coming days.
• Louisiana is expected to open the Morganza Spillway flood-control structure in early June to cope with the deluge, meteorologist Jeff Masters writes on Weather Underground.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Andrew Freeman: It's not surprising that rivers large and small are cresting above levels seen during any previous flood in history in the Plains and Midwest. Round after round of severe thunderstorms have plagued the region this spring, producing extraordinary rainfall totals on top of earlier snowmelt-related flooding. Such precipitation extremes are consistent with what is expected as the climate warms, since warmer air carries (and delivers) more moisture. Stuck, highly amplified jet stream patterns have also been tied to climate change in some studies.

View this post on Instagram

ALERT: Stay out of flooded areas - The Fort Smith Police Department is asking for your continued cooperation in dealing with the current flooding emergency by avoiding those areas that have been inundated with water. If you do not live in these areas please avoid them completely. Persons in these areas that are sight-seeing, taking pictures or engaged in other activities can hinder emergency operations and complicate recovery efforts. The police department is conducting intensive patrols of all flood areas and will take enforcement actions against those that ignore barricades. We are concerned for the safety and well-being of all the citizens we serve, and your cooperation during this time of need will help us accomplish our goal of keeping everyone safe.

A post shared by Fort Smith Police Department (@fspolice) on May 26, 2019 at 3:21pm PDT

Before and after. The first photo was taken last night when we could walk to the water’s edge. The boys stood on a picnic table. That table is now underwater below the yellow arrow. Incredible.

Aerial 📷: Chris LaCasse via Facebook pic.twitter.com/xwwSnC5Xzy

— Jesse Thill (@jtthill) May 27, 2019

Posted by Arkansas National Guard on Sunday, May 26, 2019