60
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.2M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Madison County, Arkansas: 60 recorded events between 1996 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #461 nationally and #22 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Madison County, Arkansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Madison County is the 2000s, when 28 of the county's 60 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Madison County archive, flash flood makes up 11.9% of all recorded severe weather across 5 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #461 for this hazard and #22 within Arkansas, putting it in the 84.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for flash flood in Madison County with 14 recorded events, while Oct is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 2017 | FORUM | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | WITTER | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 23, 2004 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | 0 | $200K |
| Jan 5, 1998 | SOUTH PORTION | 0 | 1 | 0 | $10K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 5, 2024 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | $5K |
| Nov 5, 2024 | WITTER | 0 | $10K |
| Nov 5, 2024 | PURDY | 0 | $10K |
| Nov 5, 2024 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | $10K |
| Apr 13, 2022 | HARMONY | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 7, 2019 | HARMONY | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 27, 2018 | AURORA | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 21, 2018 | COMBS | 0 | $50K |
| Apr 29, 2017 | FORUM | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 26, 2017 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Madison County
- Thunderstorm Wind 212
- Hail 202
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several rounds of thunderstorms during the April 20s caused periodic flash flooding over much of Madison County. For the 72 hour period ending 7 am cdt April 24, Huntsville and St. Paul received 6.57 and 6.35 inches of rain respectively. Numerous roads were flooded and as much as $100,000 damage was done to them. Some homes in the Witter area were also flooded. However; the most major event occured around 645 am cdt on the 24th. A pickup truck containing 4 occupants stalled in high water over a bridge crossing Hock Creek 5 miles southwest of Huntsville. A 3 year old girl and a 2 year old boy were swept away in the flood waters and died. The woman driving the truck and another child escaped.On April 25th, the governor of Arkansas declared Madison county a disaster area.
The Madison County sheriff died when his patrol car was swept off of a low-water bridge over the White River on County Road 112 near St. Paul around 7:00 am. The river was swollen by heavy rains during the night. The 24-hour rainfall ending at 7 AM for St. Paul was 3.39 inches.
Heavy rain fell on and off from the evening of the 18th to the early morning hours of the 20th. The cumulative effects of this heavy rainfall was flash flooding and flooding. County roads and low water crossings were first reported to have flooding at 440 pm. This flooding continued into the early morning hours of the 20th.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Madison County, Arkansas?
60 flash flood events are recorded in Madison County between 1996 and 2024, causing 7 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Madison County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Madison County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Madison County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Madison County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/madison-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.