An active spring weather pattern of showers and storms has brought us more rainy days than dry ones. Many roads and fields are flooded since the ground is excessively saturated. Since there has been so much rainfall over a short amount of time, any amount of rain poses a concern and can lead to flooding.
From the beginning of the year through May 6th, both Fayetteville and Fort Smith received above-normal rainfall totals.
FAYETTEVILLE
The normal amount of rainfall that Fayetteville gets by May 6th is around 15 inches. So far this year, the rainfall yearly total exceeds 18 inches.
A majority of the rainfall has come over the past week. From April 30th to May 6th, over 4″ fell. The week’s total is almost one-forth of the rainfall this year.
FORT SMITH
In Fort Smith, the normal amount of rainfall that we receive by May 6th is just under 15 inches. For this year, the total is already over 20 inches of rain.
Between April 30th and May 6th, over 3″ of rain fell. This is 15% of the total rain amount we’ve seen in 2019 so-far.
With additional rain expected this week, flooding will continue to be a concern, even if rainfall amounts are low.
-Sabrina
