Power Outage in Conway, AR

Power poles were broken and large trees were blown down in and near Vilonia.

A mPING report of 3 inch tree limbs broken along with power poles broken.

Trees and power lines were down near Langley Trailer Park.

Trees fell on homes and across roads, windows were damaged and there were power outages.

Trees were blown down on a power line on Shamrock Drive in Conway.

Trees and power lines were blown down.

There was a 2 mile swath of damage that started at Arkla Valley and Highway 287. Multiple structures were destroyed, roofs were tore off, and trees and power lines were down.

The roof was blown off Needs Creek Baptist Church east of Springhill. Trees and power lines were reported down in the area as well.

The most extensive damage occurred to the Needs Creek Church and adjacent neighborhood. The church suffered extensive roof damage, as did a few homes in the neighborhood. Other damage includes the destruction of outbuildings and minor roof damage to other buildings along the path. Winds in the Needs Creek area were estimated to have been near 100 mph (EF1), the highest estimated for this tornado. Trees and power lines were reported down in the area as well.

A power pole was down in Conway.

A strong outflow boundary downed trees on the UCA Campus. Power was knocked out on Campus as well.

Some trees and power lines were blown down in Conway.

A power pole was snapped and blocked traffic on US Highway 64.

Trees and power lines were blown down in downtown Conway.

A number of trees were blown down in the Conway area. Two of the trees fell on houses. A tree fell on Highway 25 in the Beaver Fork area, pulling down power lines and cable lines. A tree fell into a brick wall at the entrance to the Quail Creek subdivision.

This tornado exited Pulaski County north-northwest of Morgan and re-entered Faulkner County east-southeast of Mayflower. In Faulkner County, it first moved through the northwest part of Camp Joseph T. Robinson, a National Guard facility. Thousands of trees were blown down in the area of Arkansas Highway 89 and Clinton Rd. In addition, numerous power lines were blown down and some homes and outbuildings were damaged. Similar damage occurred as the tornado continued moving to the northeast. At the Black Oak Ranch Estates mobile home park, numerous mobile homes were destroyed and four people were killed. Two of the victims, a 63 year-old man and a 55 year-old man, were in separate mobile homes. The other two victims, a man and his wife, both 45 years-old, had left their mobile home and taken shelter in a large, metal, intermodal shipping container. The tornado carried the container approximately 150 yards, depositing it on the bank of a pond. The tornado next moved through Vilonia, causing damage to residences over a large part of the town. Businesses along U.S. Highway 64 were also damaged. Also on the highway, two tractor-trailers overturned, with one of them spilling its load of food products. After leaving Vilonia, the tornado continued on to the northeast. Additional trees were blown down, and houses and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. The Red Cross indicated that approximately 34 houses and 62 mobile homes were destroyed, 91 houses and 41 mobile homes suffered major damage, 145 houses and 43 mobile homes had minor damage, and 53 houses and 38 mobile homes were affected. The tornado then exited Faulkner County south of Mount Vernon and moved into White County west of Hammonsville.

A mobile home was blown off its foundation and had its roof torn off. This mobile home was nearly broadside to the wind and adjacent to an open field, so there was little to break the force of the wind. The resident was not home at the time. Trees were blown down, with one tree falling on a house. Fences were blown down. A carport was destroyed. The roof of a porch collapsed. Power lines were knocked down. The damage occurred along the southeastern city limits of Conway and was primarily confined to Hopkins Lane, Rowlett Lane, Arkansas Highway 286, Skunk Hollow Road, Odom Road, and Brewer Road.

A tree and a power line fell on a house due to lightning. The house suffered a partial collapse.

A few trees and power lines were blown down and part of a barn was blown into the road along Arkansas Highway 285.

A couple of structures had portions of their roofs blown off, shingles were blown off several dozen residences, hundreds of large trees were blown down, tin roofs were blown off barns and outbuildings, and a couple of old farm buildings were blown down. Several houses were damaged by falling trees. The trailer of a parked tractor-trailer was overturned. Power lines were blown down.

A couple of structures had portions of their roofs blown off, shingles were blown off several dozen residences, hundreds of large trees were blown down, tin roofs were blown off barns and outbuildings, and a couple of old farm buildings were blown down. Several houses were damaged by falling trees. The trailer of a parked tractor-trailer was overturned. Power lines were blown down.

Power lines were blown down.

Trees and power lines were down.

Trees and power lines were blown down, a barn was destroyed, and part of an old chicken house collapsed. The tornado continued into White County, in the area southwest of El Paso.

Strong winds caused a tree to fall on a car which was traveling north on Arkansas Highway 285 at Bono. The driver was killed and the passenger was injured. Shingles were blown off of a house in Conway. Several small trees were blown down. Damage was reported to homes and storage sheds. A utility pole fell into power lines near the Faulkner County Museum.

A few trees and power lines were reported down.

Power lines were blown down.

Power lines were blown down.

Some trees and power lines were blown down in Conway.

A weak tornado touched down in Faulkner County and passed just to the north of Barney. The tornado tracked over rural areas, downing some trees and power lines.

Trees and power lines were downed on the west side of Conway.

A strong tornado touched down in the southern part of Faulkner County, about 3 miles southwest of Saltillo. The tornado caused quite a bit of tree and power pole damage. Several homes and other buildings sustained some damage The tornado tracked to the northeast into Lonoke County.

A strong tornado was spawned over Faulkner County about 1 mile north of Hamlet. The tornado moved to the northeast for approximately 9.8 miles before lifting 0.8 mile east-southeast of Enola. A number of homes, both permanent and mobile, were either damaged or destroyed along the path of the tornado. An 84 year-old woman was killed when her mobile home was destroyed. 13 others sustained injuries. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. A power substation was also damaged.

Thunderstorm winds blew down some trees and power lines.

Thunderstorm winds downed some power lines and a large highway sign at Conway.

March certainly roared in like a lion across the state with back to back severe weather events on March 1st and 2nd into the 3rd. Storms on these days led to a few tornadoes as well as hail as large as 3 inches in diameter. Very heavy rainfall was noted across the area as well which led to flash flooding and widespread river flooding. One fatality occurred because of the flooding in Scott County on March 2nd. ||As the air heated up, and the atmosphere destabilized, severe thunderstorms were triggered by the front during the late afternoon and evening. The storms produced very large hail, and also caused spotty wind damage. Hail slightly larger than baseballs was reported at Woodlawn (Cleveland County), with ping pong ball size stones near Benton (Saline County) and west of Stuttgart (Arkansas County), and half dollar size hail a few miles north of Norman (Montgomery County). At Rison (Cleveland County), wind gusts up to 85 mph ripped the roof off of a church and a strip mall. Part of a brick facade was removed from latter structure. Trees were also toppled, with one tree blocking Highway 79.||The front on the 1st advanced toward the Louisiana border and stalled. The front was followed by cooler air. On the 2nd, all eyes were on a powerful storm system in the southern Rockies. In response to the approaching system, the front began lifting back to the north. By 400 pm CST, the front cleared the southern counties, and temperatures warmed into the 70s. However, readings north of Little Rock (Pulaski County) were mostly in the 50s.||As the system neared in the late afternoon, it interacted with the front and round two of thunderstorms commenced from central/northeast Texas into southeast Oklahoma. Eventually, storms congealed into a line and raced toward Arkansas. As the storms progressed into the state after dark, it was clear that severe weather (including tornadoes) was most likely south of the front (in mild air), with mainly heavy to excessive rain farther north (where cooler conditions existed).||Between 900 pm and 1000 pm CST, trees were pushed over by straight-line winds west of Y City (Scott County). About this time, rain was coming down in buckets across Scott and Yell Counties, and numerous roads were flooded/about to flood. At Boles (Scott County), there was a report of people surrounded by water and unable to leave their home.||As the night wore on, the Poteau River at Cauthron (Scott County) rose 15 feet in a hurry. The same swollen river swept a pickup truck off of Highway 80 on the east side of Waldron (Scott County). Tragically, the driver (a grandfather trying to visit his grandson) drowned. A traffic camera (provided by the Arkansas Department of Transportation) along Highway 71 south of Boles (Scott County) showed the Fourche La Fave River almost as high as the bridge over the tributary. Eventually, the pavement was inundated and became impassible. As roads turned into lakes, a vehicle stalled at Parks (Scott County), and two individuals were rescued. Similar rescues were ongoing in Yell County, and one person was transported from Corinth to a hospital in Danville (both in Yell County).||Shortly before 1100 pm CST, a tornado (rated EF2) was spawned just to the north of Kirby (Pike County). A few mobile homes were heavily damaged (resulting in three injuries). One mobile home was rolled and obliterated. Miraculously, two of the four occupants only had minor injuries. Several homes suffered roof damage, and two chicken houses were destroyed.||A couple of hours later, thunderstorm winds downed/snapped trees along Highway 229 about four miles north of Carthage (Dallas County). A few minutes before 200 am CST on the 3rd, a brief weak tornado (rated EF0) touched down in open fields east of Altheimer (Jefferson County). The tornado took out some trees along Highway 58.||Elsewhere, a weak tornado (rated EF1) was identified west of Fouke (Miller County). More trees were blown down southwest of Hope (Hempstead County) and northeast of Nashville (Howard County). Wind gusts as high as 70 to 80 mph roughed up barns, outbuildings, and signs between Damascus (Faulkner/Van Buren Counties) and Rose Bud (White County). A recreational vehicle was crushed by a fallen tree at Enola (Faulkner County).||As far as rain, there was a lot of it. Two to more than four inches of rain was common across the northern half of the state in the twenty four hour period ending at 600 am CST on the 3rd. Waldron (Scott County) had 4.90 inches of precipitation, with 4.88 inches at Blue Mountain Dam (Yell County), 4.72 inches at Danville (Yell County), 4.45 inches at Abbott (Scott County), 4.22 inches at Dardanelle (Yell County), 3.87 inches at Booneville (Logan County), 3.70 inches at Mountain View (Stone County), 3.65 inches at Gilbert (Searcy County), 3.57 inches at Calico Rock (Izard County), 3.54 inches at Mena (Polk County), 3.50 inches at Damascus (Van Buren County), 3.47 inches at Marshall (Searcy County) and Morrilton (Conway County), and 3.40 inches at Conway (Faulkner County).||Given so much rain, there was a landslide near the intersection of Highways 103 and 215 west of Oark (Johnson County). Before dawn on the 3rd, the Spring River at Hardy (Sharp County) went up six feet in two hours, was in danger of reaching a level of 14 feet (four feet above the flood stage). As a precaution, folks in homes near the river were asked to evacuate. ||The rain on the 2nd/early on the 3rd was in addition to the precipitation that fell on the 1st, especially from central into southeast Arkansas. In this part of the state, two or more inches of liquid was measured in places. This included Cane Creek State Park (Lincoln County), Keo (Lonoke County), Marianna (Lee County), Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), Sheridan (Grant County), and Stuttgart (Arkansas County).||On the 3rd, there was moderate to major flooding on the Petit Jean River, and minor to moderate flooding on the Black, Cache, Fourche La Fave, Little Red, Ouachita, Saline, Spring, and White Rivers. Concerns were growing that river levels could go even higher if a wet pattern continued into early spring.

A major winter storm brought heavy wet snow to the northwest half of Arkansas. Under the extreme weight of this snow, trees and powerlines were knocked down, putting over 100,000 Arkansans in the dark. The greatest of impacts were located across the higher elevations of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches were common with several locations receiving more than one foot. A heavy cold rainfall was noted over the southeastern half of Arkansas.

The forecast called for a line of storms to come together in eastern Oklahoma, and then move quickly through northern and western Arkansas from the late evening of the 3rd into the wee hours of the 4th. Strong to damaging winds were the main concern. Isolated tornadoes and some hail were also expected.||It was certainly warm and unstable enough to fuel severe thunderstorms. High temperatures on the 3rd were well into the 80s to around 90 degrees in places. It was 88 degrees at Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), 89 degrees at Monticello (Drew County), and 90 degrees at Camden (Ouachita County).||Farther east, 60 to over 80 mph straight-line winds become the dominant hazard. Trees and/or power lines were taken down at Antoine (Pike County), Atkins (Pope County), Bismarck (Hot Spring County), Caddo Gap (Montgomery County), just north of Clarksville (Johnson County), Harrison (Boone County), Haskell (Saline County), Hot Springs (Garland County), Perryville (Perry County), and Pleasant Plains (Independence/White Counties).||A 71 mph gust was recorded at the airport at Hot Springs (Garland County). There were a couple of quarter size hail reports around Conway (Faulkner County). More than 60,000 utility customers lost power.||At Walnut Ridge (Lawrence County), wind gusts likely exceeded 90 mph. Some homes and retail buildings in and around town were affected, with a home improvement center and furniture store hit especially hard. About two miles northwest of town, grain bins were mangled. An outbuilding was dismantled near Manson (Randolph County). ||Rain over the northern/western counties averaged a half inch to an inch. Local amounts were over two inches. In the twenty four hour period ending at 700 am CDT on the 4th, Morrilton (Conway County) got 2.09 inches of precipitation, with 2.02 inches just northeast of Damascus (Van Buren County), 1.33 inches at Hattieville (Conway County), 1.30 inches at Lead Hill (Boone County), 1.25 inches at Dardanelle (Yell County), 1.22 inches at Greers Ferry Dam (Cleburne County), 1.20 inches at Hardy (Sharp County), 1.19 inches at Subiaco (Logan County), and 1.16 inches at Mountain Home (Baxter County). The storms weakened toward daybreak, but this event was not quite done. Later in the afternoon, more storms bubbled up in southeast sections of the state, with a 60 mph gust estimated at Arkansas City (Desha County).

On the 15th, the focus was mainly to the west of Arkansas. Showers and thunderstorms became widespread across the southern Plains surrounding a storm system wobbling this way from the southwest. Some of the fireworks managed to work into western sections of the state during the afternoon and evening.||Rain was very heavy in places, with many streets covered by water in and around Waldron (Scott County). Strong to damaging thunderstorm winds toppled trees a few miles northwest of Murfreesboro (Pike County). There was quarter size hail at Bismarck (Hot Spring County). ||In the northwest, it rained at Harrison (Boone County). As rain departed to the southeast between 300 pm and 500 pm CST, the pressure dropped quickly. Temperatures warmed up and the air dried out. This was a sure sign that a small area of low pressure was forming in the wake of the exiting precipitation (a wake low). Winds kicked up and gusted as high as 50 mph. ||On the 16th, conditions were expected to go downhill locally. Widespread precipitation was in the forecast, especially in central and western Arkansas.||Given plenty of water to wring out of the clouds, flash flooding was a concern. Between 500 pm and 1000 pm CST, high water problems were realized as a deluge unfolded.|Water flowed across roads in Conway and Greenbrier (both in Faulkner County) and surrounding areas. Barricades had to be used in some cases. It was the same story at Shirley (Van Buren County) and south of Mount Ida (Montgomery County), and creeks were out of their banks. Five miles west and southwest of Arkadelphia (Clark County), Highways 8 and 26 were impassible due to flooding. Highway 71 at Y City (Scott County) was closed for the same reason.||There were quick rises on the Buffalo, Eleven Point, Fourche La Fave, Little Missouri, Petit Jean, Saline, and Spring Rivers, with minor flooding occurring in spots. The Ouachita River also came up fast, and this was due to the rain and releases at Remmel Dam. There was enough water to keep the Black, Cache, and lower White Rivers elevated, which was the norm for much of the year up to this point.||Storms in southeast Arkansas were very isolated, but popped up in a hurry where they managed to develop. Weak rotation in the clouds was stretched as clouds mushroomed. Rotation tightened after being extended leading to a brief landspout just north of Sherrill (Jefferson County) not long after 530 pm CST. This was unlike most springtime tornadoes that are usually associated with mesocyclones (strong persistent circulations that extend thousands of feet into the atmosphere).||The turning motion around the incoming system increased chances of isolated tornadoes southwest of Little Rock (Pulaski County). Numerous Tornado Warnings were issued in the far southwest, and there was damage in places.||Other spotty wind damage was reported. Metal roofing was removed from boat docks and at least a dozen trees were uprooted at a resort just northwest of Crystal Springs (Garland County). Trees and power lines were downed at Leola (Grant County).||The system gradually weakened once it arrived with a cold front on the 17th. Precipitation became more scattered and was not as heavy.||Three to more than five inches of rain dumped at quite a few locations in the western half of the state in the seventy two hour period ending at 600 pm CST on the 17th. This included Alexander (Pulaski/Saline Counties), Benton (Saline County), Booneville (Logan County), Conway (Faulkner County), Damascus (Van Buren County), DeGray Lake State Park (Clark/Hot Spring Counties), Delight (Pike County), Fairbanks (Van Buren County), Fordyce (Dallas County), Harrison (Boone County), Hot Springs (Garland County), Marshall (Searcy County), Mena (Polk County), Menifee (Conway County), Mountain Home (Baxter County), Mount Ida (Montgomery County), Murfreesboro (Pike County), and Waldron (Scott County).||For the month (through the 17th), there was more than the usual precipitation in central/western Arkansas, and it was drier than normal in the east. Surpluses of liquid were over an inch at Harrison (Boone County).

Given dangerous heat, Excessive Heat Warnings were issued for parts of Arkansas for several days by the National Weather Service. Such a headline is posted when heat indices meet or exceed 110 degrees.||Heat continued to be the main headline through the 21st. There were scattered afternoon thunderstorms, mainly in the northern half of the state. A few of the storms were severe.||From the 18th through the 21st, severe storms delivered a 67 mph gust at Pocahontas (Randolph County), destroyed a metal barn southeast of Attica (Randolph County), and pelted Sellers Store (Sharp County) with quarter size hail. Trees were downed north of Hardy (Sharp County) and at Capps (Boone County), with power lines downed at Lakeway (Marion County) and Mountain Home (Baxter County). A quick two to three inches of rain flooded roads near Pocahontas (Randolph County) and Viola (Fulton County), and a gravel road was washed out at Bergman (Boone County).

July started hot, with temperatures mostly in the 90s to around 100 degrees on the 1st. It was 98 degrees at Hot Springs (Garland County) and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County). Thunderstorms were isolated.||By the 3rd, storms were a little more numerous in western Arkansas. The strongest storms were in the southwest. Trees and power lines were downed at Arkadelphia (Clark County). Quarter size hail was reported at Gum Springs (Clark County).||Not far from Daisy (Pike County), there was some minor damage to a couple of docks on Lake Greeson. Witnesses reported winds swirling above the water, and there was video confirmation of rotation. It appeared a downburst (winds rushing downward toward the water) from a thunderstorm caused the rotation, and it was classified as a gustnado (a whirlwind at the leading edge of a downdraft).

A line of thunderstorms moved across Arkansas in the overnight hours on October 22nd. These thunderstorms caused wind gusts in excess of 60 mph throughout much of west-central and central Arkansas, mostly along the I40 corridor. These high winds blew down several high trees and power lines, along with some damage to buildings.

Very heavy rain began developing late on the 17th in northern and western Arkansas, and continued on the 18th and early on the 19th as a powerful storm system approached from Texas. The system dredged copious moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, and sent it toward Arkansas with a deep southerly wind flow. Well above normal precipitable water was noted, which enhanced rainfall efficiency across the region.

Thunderstorm winds downed a number of trees, power lines and power poles.

Thunderstorm winds knocked down a few trees and power lines near Greenbrier.

Thunderstorm winds knocked down a few power lines at Springhill.

Thunderstorm winds knocked down a few power lines in Conway.

Thunderstorm winds downed a few power lines near Springhill.