Storms damage areas of Arkansas

Clouds over Conway on Monday night.
Clouds over Conway on Monday night.

— Severe thunderstorms damaged a motel and a mobile home and knocked trees onto a highway in southern Arkansas, but no injuries have been reported. There was also a report of damage from winds on Asher Avenue in Little Rock when storms passed through central Arkansas around 6 p.m.

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High winds hit Asher Avenue.

Authorities say a tree fell onto a mobile home in Crossett, and outflow winds from a storm blew down trees and signs and stripped shingles off a motel in Lake Village Monday afternoon.

Sheriff's dispatchers in Ashley and Chicot counties said they hadn't received any reports of injuries or additional damage from the storms.

Trees also were reported down along Arkansas Highway 274 near East Camden, and a wind gust of 60 mph was reported in DeQueen.

At least 23 Arkansas counties are under a severe thunderstorm watch until late Monday.

The state will have some chances of severe weather lasting through at least Wednesday and possibly into Thursday.

John Robinson, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Little Rock, said a "large complex of thunderstorms" will push into the state from the south this evening. Damaging wind and possibly large hail will be the main threat for the southern counties Monday evening, but the severity of this system should decrease as it moves north in the overnight hours.

Tuesday and Wednesday will bring a more widespread chance of severe thunderstorms and heavy rain as a slow, low-pressure system moves in from the west, Robinson said. He said the

Robinson predicts that damaging wind and large hail will be the biggest threats with the storms this week, and while the chances for tornadoes are low they can't be ruled out.

The rainfall amounts from this evening through Wednesday should average between 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches for most of the state, with some areas seeing up to 2 inches, Robinson said.

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