LITTLE ROCK, AR – On this day 40 years ago, Hurricane Juan was drenching the southern portions of Arkansas, marking one of the more memorable late-season tropical events in the region’s history.
Between October 28 and 31, 1985, Juan stalled and meandered off the Louisiana coast for several days before making its final landfall in coastal Alabama. Though the storm weakened as it drifted inland, it still produced torrential rainfall across southern Arkansas, with totals ranging from 3 to over 6 inches.
According to National Weather Service records, the heaviest rainfall occurred at Crossett, which recorded 6.60 inches, followed closely by Portland (6.05″), Hamburg (5.96″), and Eudora (5.57″).
The slow movement of the storm caused localized flooding and saturated fields, impacting agriculture but also helping to replenish water tables late in the year.
Meteorologists note that Hurricane Juan’s erratic path and prolonged rainfall made it one of the more unusual Gulf storms of the 1980s, remembered especially for its persistent rains over Arkansas and Louisiana.
