Editor's note: Some story info from AccuWeather.
Predictions that Tropical Storm Bill will bring another six to 10 inches of rain to watershed areas of the Arkansas River could mean that normal transportation on the river system may not return until August.
AccuWeather report Tuesday (June 16) that Tropical Storm Bill, which hit Galveston early Tuesday, could will funnel copious amounts of moisture into a zone that had torrential rainfall in May. Flooding from that rainfall continues along some of the rivers in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Marty Shell, who owns Van Buren-based Five Rivers Distribution and operates the Port of Fort Smith and port operations in Van Buren, said June 11 that barring more heavy rains it would likely be June 30 before barges can move again on the Arkansas River. The tropical storm emerged just a few days later.
Shell said Tuesday that he’s talked to port operators along the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers, and they aren’t optimistic about what Tropical Storm Bill may leave behind.
“‘Critical’ and ‘catastrophic’ are the two words I’ve heard the most today,” Shell said.
Continuing, he said: “It looks like we’re fixing to get as much if not more water than we did two weeks ago, and this will be the third time in three weeks that we have been flooded, moved back in, cleaned up, and had to move it back out. ... But, that’s what Mother Nature is giving us and that’s what we’ll deal with.”
RIVER TONNAGE DECLINES
Unusually heavy rains during May forced the closure of many locks along the Arkansas River waterway from Tulsa down to where the waterway connects with the Mississippi. May tonnage on the river totaled 347,336 tons, down more than 61% compared to the 898,523 tons shipped in May 2014, according to figures from the U.S. Corps of Engineers. For the first five months of the year, Arkansas River tonnage has totaled 4.065 million tons, down 18% compared to the same period in 2014.
The Arkansas River system (The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System) is 445 miles long and stretches from the confluence of the Mississippi River to the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa, Okla. The controlled waterway has 18 locks and dams, with 13 in Arkansas and five in Oklahoma. The river also has five ports: Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Muskogee, Okla., and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma.
Without gains in the remainder of the year, the river system could see two consecutive years of shipping declines. Tonnage totaled 11.719 million tons in 2014, down from the 12.139 million in 2013 but better than the 11.687 million in 2012 and the 10.6 million in 2011.
Shell said it’s been around 20 years since he’s seen river levels create this level of disruption. High river levels into August or September could disrupt manufacturing and other operations in Northwest Arkansas, the Fort Smith area, and other regions served by goods moving into and out of Arkansas river ports.
STORM MAY MAINTAIN INTENSITY
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said tropical systems often weaken rapidly when making landfall due to dry air choking off the moisture source needed to maintain intensity. However, recent heavy rain and waterlogged landscape could cause this storm to weaken slowly.
"While the best chance for strong winds will be at the coast, strong wind gusts could continue inland quite a ways due to the continued intensity of the storm," AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffy said.
The storm will funnel copious amounts of moisture into a zone that had torrential rainfall in May. Flooding from that rainfall continues along some of the rivers in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The heaviest rain and hence the greatest risk of flooding on Tuesday into Thursday will be focused on the upper Texas coast, central and northeastern Texas and central and eastern Oklahoma. Many of these locations may receive double-digit rainfall this week. This, on top of 1-2 feet of rain that hit during May.
An arm of rainfall averaging 6-10 inches will extend as far to the north as southern Missouri. Locally heavier amounts are possible. The heavy rainfall will not stop over the southern Plains and the middle Mississippi Valley. Rain heavy enough to cause flooding will be funneled into part of the Midwest and the East.