State gets a whipping from wind

LITTLE ROCK — A storm system that brought thunderstorms and winds as high as 80 mph to the state Thursday knocked out power to tens of thousands of Arkansans and damaged several homes.

One person was slightly injured when a tornado destroyed his mobile home near Sheridan, National Weather Service officials said.

Meanwhile, more than 42,000 houses and businesses started the day without electricity in Entergy’s statewide service area, spokesman Julie Munsell said. By Thursday evening, about 24,000 of its customers remained in the dark - mostly in Pulaski, Columbia and Union counties.

Southwestern Electric Power Co. had more than 5,600 without power Thursday morning in its service areas in southwest and Northwest Arkansas, spokesman Scott McCloud said. By evening, about 1,700 customers remained without power, particularly in Nashville and De Queen.

Scattered power failures were also reported in Sherwood and North Little Rock.

While the main storm system passed through before daylight, sustained winds of 30-35 mph were common throughout the day. The entire state was under a wind advisory as gusts of 60-80 mph were reported from Murfreesboro to DeWitt.

In North Little Rock, the National Weather Service office recorded one wind gust that was as strong as 49 mph Thursday morning, meteorologist Matthew Clay said.

“You can go outside and enjoy tropical stormlike winds,” Clay said.

The storm system formed in Texas on Wednesday and entered Arkansas late that night. Farther north, heavy snow fell in Nebraska, Kansas and northwest Missouri.

By 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, weather spotters reported 63 mph winds and 1.25-inch diameter hail near Caulksville in Logan County. As the storm moved east, trees fell, blocking roads and downing power lines.

A brief EF 1 tornado with winds of up to 110 mph formed at 1:30 a.m. Thursday about five miles west of Sheridan, said Grant County Office of Emergency Management Director Randy Pruitt.

The twister formed so quickly that emergency officials had no time to activate tornado sirens.

“It was there and gone,” he said.

The tornado damaged roofs on several homes and destroyed several barns, sheds and other utility buildings in the area, Pruitt said.

Gerald Winston told Pruitt that he woke about 1:30 a.m. Thursday and walked from his bedroom to his kitchen.The tornado struck his mobile home seconds later, demolishing it.

Winston twisted his ankle and received minor head scrapes, Pruitt said.

“It looked like his house just blew up around him,” Pruitt said. “I figure if he stayed in the bedroom, he’d have been in bad trouble.”

Pruitt said all but a small portion of one wall of Winston’s home was flattened. On the only remaining wall standing, a plaque with a mounted deer head hung on a nail undisturbed.

Officials reported that downed trees blocked roads near Arkadelphia, Hot Springs, Perryville, Casscoe and Murfreesboro.

In all, damage was reported in at least 20 Arkansas counties, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

Lightning struck the Chicot County E-911 center, briefly knocking out the emergency system, Jackson said. Crews used backup radios, and telephone service was quickly restored, he said.

Elsewhere, the persistent wind played havoc.

In Little Rock, a tractor trailer rig blew off Interstate 440 on Thursday morning, said Glenn Bolick, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. High winds during the day prevented workers from uprighting the rig.

“Our crews have been out since early in the morning, clearing trees and removing debris from roads,” Bollick said.

Wind also damaged several traffic lights in Little Rock, including those at Interstate 630 and Martin Luther King Boulevard, Shackleford Road and Interstate 430, and Chester Street at Seventh, Sixth, Fifth and Fourth streets, spokesman Meg Matthews said.

The city used generators to power stoplights at Cantrell Road and Kavanaugh Boulevard, Cantrell Road and Reservoir Road, Markham Street and Corporate Hill Drive, and Rodney Parham Road and Woodland Drive.

The high winds also knocked out power to Arkansas Tech University, forcing the Russellville school to close.

Calico Rock School District in Izard County also canceled classes Thursday, because downed lines cut off the school’s heating system.

Along with the wind, the storm system also brought Arkansas a rare rain event from neighboring Texas.

The high winds picked up sand from the drought-stricken West Texas cities of Amarillo, Lubbock and Midland, and suspended them as the system crossed into Arkansas. When rain fell, the sand mixed with the precipitation and formed “mud rain,” Clay said.

Because Texas sand is reddish, the phenomenon is also known as “blood rain,” the meteorologist said.

“It’s just a dirty, muddy rain,” he said. “It was hit-and miss around the state. It’s kind of rare that it traveled this far into Arkansas.”

Ed Colvard, manager of Boomerang Car Wash in Little Rock, said he saw a boom in people driving their cars in for a wash.

He said the car wash company owns outlets in six states, including in Shreveport, where the “mud rain” also fell, causing cars to line up into the street for washes.

“It’s a bluebird day for us,” he said. “We look forward to days like this.”

By Thursday afternoon, temperatures in Arkansas had dropped from the mid-60s to the low 40s, Clay said. Fayetteville saw a few snow flurries early Thursday.

Temperatures were forecast to sink below freezing overnight. Today, the first day of winter, the low temperature is expected to be about 30 degrees in Little Rock. Mountain Home will see low temperatures in the upper 20s, and the mercury is expected to drop to 25 in Fayetteville tonight.