UPDATE: Severe storms hit Arkansas

Smoke billows from a substation in Newport.
Smoke billows from a substation in Newport.

8:00 UPDATE

New tornado warnings have been issued for Drew and Lincoln Counties until 8:15 p.m.

7:41 UPDATE

A new tornado warning has been issued for extreme southeastern Arkansas County and Desha County. This new storm is traveling at 50mph from the White River Wildlife Refuge area and is headed toward Mississippi. This warning is in effect until 8:00 p.m.

All previous tornado warnings are over.


7:20 UPDATE

Only one tornado warning is currently still in effect in the state at this time and that is for southern Lincoln County, northern Drew County and extreme western areas of Desha County.


7:10 UPDATE

The National Weather Service in Memphis has issued a new tornado warning for Southeastern Lee County and northeastern Phillips County, with the storm moving to the east at 50 mph. Helena-West Helena is being advised to take cover at this time.

Local law enforcement reports that a brief tornado touched down in Tischner. Power lines are down and deputies en route to assess the damage.

Southern Arkansas, northern Drew, northern Bradley, Desha and Clinton Counties are expected to be affected by the current thunderstorms but it is yet unknown if the storms will turn tornadic in those areas.


6:56 UPDATE

Lonoke, Grant, and White Counties are in the clear at this time.

The circulation east of Grady has broadened.

Another storm cell has caused a new tornado warning to be issued for Memphis and that storm is expected to move across the river into West Memphis.


6:44 UPDATE

A funnel was spotted at West Memphis Airport Road.

Another storm cell is in Star City moving towards Yorktown.

Doppler Radar indicated a tornado in the air on the south side of Gillette moving toward Tischner.


6:33 UPDATE

The Wooly Road community in Cleveland County is under a severe thunderstorm warning with possible rotation.

Baseball-sized hail has fallen in southern portions of Cleveland County.


6:22 UPDATE

Cleveland, Lincoln and Jefferson counties are now under a tornado warning.

A funnel cloud was spotted one mile north of Almyra.

Significant rotation is just east of Rison and residents in that area are advised to take cover.


6:16 UPDATE

High rotation and hail is being reported between Gould and Grady headed toward Star City. Gillette is also in the path of that storm.


6:10 UPDATE

Rotation is in the air between Crockett's Bluff and Almyra, according to a local law enforcement agency.

The tornado that was headed toward Grady passed just north of the town.


6:04 UPDATE

There is report of a tornado on the ground headed toward Grady. Radar shows a tornadic thunderstorm in that area.


5:55 UPDATE

A possible lightning strike at a power substation in Newport sparked a fire as storms passed through the area earlier this afternoon.

Dispatchers at the Independence County sheriff's office said there was downed power lines and trees in Oil Trough and Jacksonport, which is still flooded from rains earlier this month.


5:45 UPDATE

There have been scant reports of damage so far despite several warnings, funnel cloud spottings and hail across a wide swath of Arkansas.

There is a developing funnel cloud near Harrisburg, a storm chaser says.


5:25 UPDATE

Sirens are blaring in downtown Brinkley as a dark wall cloud loomed over the city.

As far as damage reports, there are trees and power lines down in the Independence County towns of Oil Trough and Jacksonport but no big damage has been seen yet.


5:10 UPDATE

Softball-sized hail was spotted near White Hall as a cluster of storms dotted south and east Arkansas on Wednesday.

A wall cloud was seen but nothing was on the ground in White Hall.

Tornado warnings were in effect for most of Jefferson County, and another alert popped up moments later in the far south for Cleveland County.


A severe weather outbreak this afternoon in Arkansas spawned a tornado on the ground in Newport.

There are reports of structural damage in Oil Trough, where the tornado began before tracking toward Newport.

Much of the state, which is already reeling from more than a month of storms and floods, was under a severe weather watch once again Wednesday.

Conditions are ripe for a particularly dangerous severe storm situation, according to the National Weather Service in Little Rock.

The hazardous weather outlook includes 44 counties, from the southwest area of the state stretching into the extreme northeast.

A storm system in Kansas will move into Arkansas this afternoon, bringing with it large hail, high winds and possible tornadoes.

The weather service warns that the potential does exist for a very strong tornado to develop of a part of central to eastern Arkansas.

The Storm Prediction Center earlier today expanded the high risk area for severe thunderstorms to include parts of northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western and central Kentucky and southern Indiana. Surrounding that, a moderate risk area extends from southern Arkansas and Mississippi to central Indiana and western Ohio. Conditions are favorable for long-track, violent tornadoes in both risk areas. The storms will also be capable of producing very large hail, damaging straight-line winds, frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and torrential rainfall. Severe thunderstorms and large, damaging tornadoes this afternoon and evening could affect significant population centers including St. Louis, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis.

Arkansas Online will monitor the weather situation throughout the night and will post updates to Facebook as well as this site.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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