County Road 215 temporarily became a river Saturday, May 31, after a storm dumped several inches of rain over southern parts of Saline County in a two-hour period. Local Farm Service Agency officials are asking farmers to report any damage to crops, buildings and/or livestock. Marcia Gorrell/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

A very localized but intense storm caused flash flooding in the southern part of Saline County Saturday afternoon, May 31, while most of the county enjoyed warm, humid weather.

National Weather Service staff members were unavailable to provide official information about the storm Monday morning, June 2, because more severe weather was moving into the northwest part of the state, but citizen reports indicate that the storm moved in a narrow band roughly along Highway H south of Marshall, dumping an inch or more of rain per hour from about 4 to 6 p.m.

Marshall Democrat-News Staff Writer Marcia Gorrell and her family were working in their fields Saturday and noticed the difference in rainfall across a relatively short distance.

A section of County Road 215 shows signs of erosion from flood waters after an intense storm dumped several inches of water on parts of southern Saline county Saturday, May 31. (Marcia Gorrell/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"It rained one inch at our house but 3 1/2 inches on (Highway) H," she said.

She and one of her sons were working further north, near Malta Bend, where "the sun was shining the whole time." Another son was working near Highway H, where he "thought he was going to get blown away by another tornado, the storm was so bad."

Gorrell and her son had to take a circuitous route home to avoid flooded roads. She noted that one unnamed creek near their home --which hasn't flooded since 1993 -- washed over the road for a time, goughing out gravel that in one place left a buried wire exposed.

She also noted hail damage to crops in the area.

"In 23 years I've never quite seen anything like it," she said.

Local Farm Service Agency officials are asking farmers who suffered damage to crops, property and/or livestock from Saturday's storms to report it to their local FSA office.

"Your information will be used to compile a Damage Assessment Report to determine the need for Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) or other disaster-related assistance," officials said.

The storms produced up to 4 inches of rain and some hail in areas south of Marshall, according to FSA.

Another area resident, who lives on Highway 41 near the intersection with Route K in Cooper County, reported receiving 2.68 inches of rain in about two hours.

Contact Eric Crump at marshalleditor@socket.net