Rainfall may keep swollen Arkansas rivers from receding as quickly as hoped, according to the National Weather Service.
Jeff Hood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said most of the state would get 1 inch to 1.5 inches of precipitation between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. today.
That's probably not enough to increase the water level of Arkansas rivers, but it could delay a drop, Hood said.
In Northwest Arkansas, the total precipitation will be lighter but could come in the form of 1 to 2 inches of snow from Fayetteville to Mountain Home. Precipitation in Northwest Arkansas is projected to be between 0.5 and 0.75 of an inch today. One inch of snow equals about one-tenth of an inch of rain.
No additional precipitation is in the forecast for Sunday through Wednesday, Hood said.
Arkansas was waterlogged with heavy rains in late December. All that water has been moving slowly through Arkansas waterways toward the Mississippi River.
The White River was at major flood stage at Des Arc until late Thursday, when the level dropped below 30 feet.
Twenty miles downriver at Clarendon, Mayor James Stinson III said his town is prepared for cresting waters.
Stinson said the city has closed the three gates along the levee to keep river water from entering the city.
"That means any rainwater we get while the gates are shut we are going to have to pump out of the city," he said.
According to the National Weather Service, the White River crested at Clarendon on Thursday at 31.72 feet. Late Friday afternoon, it was 31.52 feet. Flood stage there is 26 feet, and major flood stage is 32 feet. The record level at Clarendon was 43.3 feet during the 1927 flood.
Stinson said Clarendon was seeing no flooding problems, thanks to the levee that protects the city.
Sixteen miles southeast, at Maddox Bay Landing near Holly Grove, Janice Shenep was running her boat dock and bait shop, but keeping an eye on the flooded fields outside her window.
Maddox Bay is an oxbow lake east of the White River. When the river floods, so does the lake, she said.
Shenep said several people who live on Maddox Bay can't drive home because Lower Maddox Bay Road and Resort Road are flooded. Instead, they're parking their vehicles at her place and using boats to get home.
"It used to do this a lot when I was growing up," she said. "It would get up to 31 feet and people would have to boat to get out. Thirty-five feet puts it in my bait shop. It's nearly 32 right now. It is flooding on the lower end. I can look out the window here and see the water in the fields, where the bay is flowing over."
Shenep said the water is swift and potentially dangerous.
The mail carrier has been leaving mail at Maddox Bay Landing for people who live along flooded roads or in other inaccessible areas. Neighbors go in to get the mail or Shenep sends it to them by boat when someone is heading their direction, she said.
Gary Grossman, 73, said his mailbox is barely sticking out of the water along Lower Maddox Bay Road.
"She would need a snorkel to get down here," he said, referring to his mail carrier.
Instead, Grossman has been getting groceries and mail by boat. His last order was for bologna, bread and cookies.
Grossman said it may be a month before the water recedes and Lower Maddox Bay Road is passable again. The gravel road may be damaged by the water and need repairs, he said.
Shenep said she expects the water to recede next week from the area around Maddox Bay Landing, which is about a mile north of Grossman's house.
While rivers have been receding in Arkansas, floodwaters from the Midwest have been slowly moving down the Mississippi River.
Osceola was the only place in Arkansas still at "major flood stage" on Friday, but gauges near Arkansas City in Desha County and Lake Village in Chicot County are supposed to hit that level next week.
The Mississippi River crested Thursday at Osceola at 39.67 feet and had receded to 39.3 feet by Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Flood stage at Osceola is 28 feet. Anything over 35 feet is considered major flood stage at Osceola.
The record highest crest at Osceola was 50.9 feet in 1937.
Joseph Richmond, the emergency management coordinator for Mississippi County, said flood damage was limited in the Osceola area and confined primarily to agricultural lands.
The Mississippi River was at 42.88 feet late Friday at Arkansas City. Flood stage there is 37 feet. The National Weather Service is predicting the river there to reach major flood stage of 44 feet Sunday and to crest Monday at 45 feet.
The Mississippi River was at 54.48 feet a little farther downriver at the Greenville, Miss., gauge late Friday. The river there is predicted to reach major flood stage of 57 feet Monday and crest at 57.5 feet Tuesday. Flood stage at Greenville is 48 feet. The Greenville gauge is about six miles southeast of Lake Village.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has declared 43 of Arkansas' 75 counties as disaster areas. Five counties were added to that list on Friday: Dallas, Independence, Lee, Mississippi and Woodruff.
At least two deaths in the state have been attributed to the flooding.
Farther south, in Louisiana, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway on Sunday to keep the volume of Mississippi River flows at New Orleans from exceeding 1.25 million cubic feet per second.
The spillway, which is west of New Orleans, diverts a portion of the Mississippi River's flood flows to Lake Pontchartrain. Opening the spillway helps to relieve pressure on levees, maintain river stages and regulate the flow of the river south of the spillway.
South of Arkansas, the Mississippi River was at 47.3 feet late Friday at Vicksburg, Miss. Flood stage is 43 feet. The river is projected to hit major flood stage of 50 feet Monday and crest at 52 feet Friday. The record crest there was 57.1 feet in 2011.
The Mississippi River was at 38.53 feet late Friday at Baton Rouge. Flood stage there is 35 feet. The river is projected to hit major flood stage of 43 feet Sunday in Baton Rouge. Record crest there was 47.28 feet in 1927.
In New Orleans, the river was at 15.47 feet late Friday. By Tuesday, it is projected to be at 17 feet, which is flood stage. Record crest there was 21.27 feet in 1922.
Metro on 01/09/2016