LITTLE ROCK — President Barack Obama declared seven Arkansas counties major disaster areas from Christmas ice and snow damage on Tuesday, as a new storm crossed the state carrying high winds.
The federal declaration makes Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Lonoke, Perry, Pulaski and Saline counties eligible to receive funding for emergency work and the repair of damaged public facilities.
Along with wind, the strong storm system that entered Arkansas on Tuesday afternoon brought thunderstorms and hail, and spawned multiple tornado warnings by nightfall, National Weather Service meteorologists said.
Arkansas Department of Emergency Management officials said the most extensive damage as of 9 p.m. was reported in Madison County, near the Carroll County line. Department spokesman Brandon Morris said barns were destroyed and homes were damaged. Area residents also reported about 30 cows missing and some dead.
Authorities in Stone County shut down one lane of Arkansas 5 near Mountain View because of a rock slide, Morris said. Highway Department crews were en route to clear the scene about 9 p.m., he said.
In Crawford County, where a tornado warning was issued about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, winds destroyed a four-bedroom cabin near Natural Dam in the northwestern part of the county, said SteveGann of the Crawford County Office of Emergency Management.
Several farm buildings and a travel trailer on Rainwater Road were damaged, and a tree fell onto a vacant home, Gann said.
There were no injuries reported.
Gann said several trees were also blown over along Arkansas 59, and utility lines were down.
In Little Rock, City Manager Bruce Moore said there were reports of tornado sightings near Mabelvale Pike and Chicot Road, but nothing ever touched down. There were no reports of damage.
The National Weather Service in North Little Rock said most reports of damage in the Little Rock area involved downed power lines and trees. Dave Scheibe, an observation program leader at the weather service, said eastern Pulaski County was under a tornado warning until 7:45 p.m., but they hadn’t received any reports to verify a tornado in the Little Rock area.
The weather service received a report of a tornado east of Monticello about 8:52 p.m.
Entergy Arkansas officials said more than 9,800 homes and businesses - mostly in Jefferson County and Cross County - were without power about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The Department of Emergency Management warned residents that dangling limbs or trees weakened by the Christmas Day snowstorm could fall during Tuesday’s storm. Emergency officials also said limbs could fall onto power lines, knocking them down and disrupting electrical service.
In Little Rock, the Public Works Department is still trying to collect about 20,000 tons of storm debris from the Christmas Day snowstorm.
City Manager Bruce Moore announced the federal disaster relief at a Board of Directors meeting Tuesday evening and asked city directors to prepare a resolution for next Tuesday to allow him to bid out the debris clearing work and award a contract to the lowest qualified bidder.
Moore said staff members have prepared bid requests based on paperwork from the 2000 ice storm that left the city with even more debris than the storm last month.
“During that storm cleanup,we bid out the contract based on a price per tonnage with a big general contractor, and they went on to hire local contractors,” he said. “We’ve been keeping a list of local contractors who have been calling.”
Several directors expressed a desire to use local companies to make sure that residents are given the chance to benefit from any work created by the cleanup.
Under the declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay 75 percent of the cleanup costs, the state will pay 12.5 percent, and the cities and counties included will each pay the remaining 12.5 percent of the cost - which can be paid partially through salaries and overtime if documented correctly.
With more storm damage Tuesday, there may be more than enough work to go around. The storms formed Tuesday afternoon in Northwest Arkansas after a strong cold front from the southern Plains crossed into the state. Temperatures ranged in the 60s and 70s on Tuesday afternoon - El Dorado recorded a reading of 74 degrees at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Texarkana saw 73 degrees and Memphis reported 75 degrees.
Temperatures are expected to drop drastically by nightfall tonight, National Weather Service meteorologist Marty Trexler said. Forecasters predicted Little Rock’s mercury will dip to 29 degrees, and Fayetteville is expected to see a low reading of 23 degrees. Forecasters also say there’s even a slight chance for snow flurries on the northern edge of the state Thursday evening.
“It’s the classic warm air meets cold air,” Trexler said. “As the two meet, it increases the air’s instability.”
At the Ridgecrest Resort at Midway on Bull Shoals Lake, owner Robert Martin watched as the frontal system approached late Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s bearing down on us now,” he said. “Clouds are flying by. It’ll be on us soon.”
The entire state was placed under a tornado watch Tuesday evening until 1 a.m. today.
Trexler said the fast-moving storm system was preceded by strong winds, and gusts of up to 60-80 miles per hour were expected to accompany the front.
“We still have a ways to go with this,” Trexler said of the storm system Tuesday evening. “There still is the possibility for wind damage and an isolated tornado or two before it leaves the state.”
Information for this report was contributed by Aziza Musa of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 01/30/2013