Flooding in Memphis, Tennessee, and Eastern Arkansas Prompts Evacuations | The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel

Torrential rain triggered flash flooding in the Memphis metro area early Sunday morning. Here's the latest.



A cluster of slow-moving thunderstorms triggered flash flooding in the Memphis metro area and parts of eastern Arkansas that forced some residents out of their homes Sunday.

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Two to three feet of water flooded underpasses along the I-240 to I-40 corridor, according to the National Weather Service. Multiple cars were reported stranded in Shelby County, including areas of east Memphis, Germantown and Cordova. 

Authorities say flooding in parts of Shelby County has forced some residents to evacuate their homes.

(MAPS: Interactive Radar | NWS Flood Alerts)

Bob Nations, director of the Shelby County Office of Preparedness, says Memphis firefighters rescued seven residents from a mobile home park after rising water got inside their trailers. Victims were taken to a nearby shelter.

A few miles away in southeast Shelby County, officials say high water forced some residents to remove furniture from their homes.

Nations says representatives from law enforcement agencies are monitoring the water and patrolling neighborhoods throughout Shelby County to assist residents if needed.

In eastern Arkansas, several roads were reported to be swamped by flooding in Monroe County, including parts of highways 49, 70, 86 and 302. Five families were evacuated in the Stonebrook Subdivision in Forrest City, Arkansas. Evacuations were also prompted in the towns of Zent and Madison due to rising floodwaters threatening homes.

Radar estimated over 7 inches of rain had fallen in parts of Woodruff, Monroe, St. Francis, and Prairie Counties in eastern Arkansas, roughly halfway between Memphis and Little Rock. A whopping 10.36 inches of rain was measured in Little Dixie, Arkansas.

Memphis International Airport picked up 2.28 inches of rain in just one hour ending at 5:54 a.m. CDT Sunday. In total, Memphis picked up 5.87 inches of rain Sunday, all before 1 p.m.

Let's list the notables on Memphis rainfall from this event, and for the month of June, according to the National Weather Service:

  • Second wettest June day: Only June 8, 1877 (8.86 inches) was wetter.
  • Among top 10 wettest days all-time: Only one other day in the summer months was wetter (see first bullet statement above).
  • Second wettest June: Again, only June 1877 (18.16 inches) was wetter.
  • Among top 10 wettest months all-time: June 2014 is now the wettest single month in Memphis since 17.13 inches was measured in April 1991.

Dating to 1976, this is now the wettest June on record at the North Little Rock, Arkansas, with 7.58 inches of rain measured as of midnight Monday morning.

Below is a collection of photos via social media and storm reports.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.