Power Outage in Magnolia, AR

An EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 100 mph touched down near County Road 52 near Lake Columbia. There, it snapped several softwood trees before continuing onward into forested areas where it caused intermittent damage. As the tornado continued to move northeast, damage was again observed near North Mill and North Cottage Street where trees were snapped and uprooted. The tornado continued on to uproot and snap trees as it crossed Washington and Neil Streets in the city of Waldo. Prior to reaching Highway 371, the tornado damaged an awning of a church, before knocking over several power poles and snapping trees across several blocks in Waldo. On the northeast side of the city limits, the tornado completely destroyed a small metal outbuilding and continued on to snap more trees at the edge of a farm before lifting.

An EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 100 mph touched down near County Road 52 near Lake Columbia. There, it snapped several softwood trees before continuing onward into forested areas where it caused intermittent damage. As the tornado continued to move northeast, damage was again observed near North Mill and North Cottage Street where trees were snapped and uprooted. The tornado continued on to uproot and snap trees as it crossed Washington and Neil Streets in the city of Waldo. Prior to reaching Highway 371, the tornado damaged an awning of a church, before knocking over several power poles and snapping trees across several blocks in Waldo. On the northeast side of the city limits, the tornado completely destroyed a small metal outbuilding and continued on to snap more trees at the edge of a farm before lifting.

A tree was blown onto power lines along Highway 79, sparking an electrical fire.

Several trees and power lines were downed blocking roads across Columbia County.

Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted east of Magnolia. Numerous power lines were downed as well.

Trees and power lines were downed along County Road 15 east of the Bussey community.

A tree was blown down onto a power line on West McNeil Street in Magnolia.

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down on the Southern Arkansas University campus in Magnolia.

Trees and power lines down along Highway 82 near SAU in Magnolia.

Trees and power lines down near the Atlanta community east of Emerson. Power was out to much of this area as well.

Powerlines were downed in Magnolia, Arkansas.

Trees and powerlines were downed throughout the entire county.

Another EF1 tornado touched down on the northeast side of Magnolia, Arkansas. The tornado touched down on CR 47 about one quarter of a mile east of Hwy. 79. Some significant to major damage was observed to several mobile homes and powerlines and poles were snapped. A residential shop was also damaged by fallen trees. Winds were estimated at 95-105 mph.

Another EF1 tornado touched down on the northeast side of Magnolia, Arkansas. The tornado touched down on CR 47 about one quarter of a mile east of Hwy. 79. Some significant to major damage was observed to several mobile homes and powerlines and poles were snapped. A residential shop was also damaged by fallen trees. Winds were estimated at 95-105 mph.

Trees and powerlines were downed across the city with roads closed.

Numerous trees and power lines were downed. An awning was blown off the Coca Cola plant and a radio tower was blown down at the police department.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Ike resulted in widespread trees and power lines downed throughout all of Nevada County, Arkansas. Power outages were widespread as well with numerous residents without power during the height of the storm and days afterward. Trees were reported down on three homes across the county as well. There were no injuries reported.

Non-thunderstorm winds downed several trees across the county. Three trees fell in Magnolia, one on West Main Street, another on Legion Drive and a third on South Washington. One tree fell across a home near Magnolia High School. Numerous power lines were downed as well which resulted in a few fires. Fires were reported on County Roads 10 East, 11 and 42.

Awning blown off of a building on Washington Street near downtown. Powerlines were also knocked down on North Jackson Street near downtown. Trees were downed on county road 27. Around 15 trees were taken down by damaging wind gusts just south of the city.

Numerous trees and power lines down resulting in a grass fire.

Lightning struck a home in Magnolia when the owners head a loud pop. The power went off and it was discovered the lightning struck the meter loop, traveled from the loop to the northwest (far) end of the house where the breaker box was located in a utility room and set fire to the carport, utility room, and kitchen. The lightning hit with enough force to knock pictures off the walls of the home.

After trying to recover from an ice storm two week earlier in the month, another even more devastating ice storm struck all of southwest Arkansas. Freezing rain resulted in ice accumulations ranging from 1/4 inch to as much as 6 inches. After taking a tour of the state, the Governor of Arkansas used words such as apocalyptic and cataclysmic to describe the damage. Power was knocked out across all of southwest Arkansas with nearly 300,000 homes and business without power due to thousands of trees and 2500 power poles either broken or toppled. Utility crews from 23 different states were summoned to help repair lines. Some residents were without power as late as the middle of January 2001.

An arctic air mass spilled southward out of the central plains and into the lower Mississippi Valley. This cold, surface air mass was overrun by a warm humid air mass which combined with a strong upper level storm system across west Texas. the result was widespread freezing rain across all of southwest Arkansas. The precipitation was a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and some light snow northwest of a Texarkana to Prescott Arkansas line while further east the precipitation was all freezing rain. Ice accumulations of two to four inches were common. An estimated 235,000 residents lost electrical power due to ice covered power lines snapping or ice covered trees splitting and falling across the lines. The was the worst storm in the history of the power companies suppling the power as far as damage but not total ice accumulations. A total of 29 transmission lines atop "H" shaped steel towers were snapped due to the weight of the ice. Numerous traffic accidents were also reported and many homes suffered damage from fallen trees and tree limbs. As a result, the Governor of Arkansas declared a State of Emergency for all of southwest Arkansas. Cleanup costs along reached upwards of 15 million dollars. Several Pine Plantations throughout southwest Arkansas suffered catastrophic damage from the ice storm with upwards of 25 million dollars worth of young trees destroyed.

Trees and power lines down across Hwy 344.

A decaying complex of showers and thunderstorms over Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas drifted south through much of Southwest Arkansas during the afternoon and evening hours of May 15th, as an accompanying shortwave trough shifted east away from this area into Eastern Arkansas and the Mid-South region. Meanwhile, scattered showers and thunderstorms developed throughout the afternoon across North Louisiana and East Texas, along a large seabreeze boundary that pushed north from the Gulf of Mexico. The air mass remained moderately unstable even through the early evening hours as the seabreeze boundary encountered the leading edge of the cold pool associated with the decaying showers and thunderstorms, such that an isolated severe thunderstorm developed over Eastern Columbia County Arkansas and shifted north across the county. This storm downed a large tree east of Magnolia, with extensive power outages noted over Eastern Columbia County as well, before weakening as it encountered more stable air to the north over Ouachita County.