Thousands without power morning after storms

More than 11,000 Entergy customers remained in the dark Tuesday morning, a day after strong storms caused high winds and at least one tornado across much of the state.

The utility reported at 11:22 a.m. that 11,196 customers were without power, including more than 2,800 in Garland County, more than 1,900 in Pulaski County and about 1,300 in Faulkner County.

Entergy, which earlier reported more than 28,000 customers in the dark Monday night, said service was expected to be fully restored by 11 p.m. Wednesday.

"Entergy personnel are working to restore service as quickly as safely possible," the utility said in a statement. "At this time, we estimate that all service will be restored by late Wednesday night. The estimated time of restoration could change as all damage assessments are completed or if other storm activity results in additional outages."

Arkansas First Electric Cooperative, meanwhile, said more than 1,200 customers were without power Tuesday morning.

The storms Monday night spawned one confirmed tornado near Ola in Yell County, though damage there was not believed to be significant.

Some storm damage was reported in Little Rock, including on Juniper Road south of Interstate 30 and west of Geyer Springs Road.

One house in that area had a large branch knocked down in its front yard while another had a big tree fall onto and through part of its roof.

The resident of the latter, in the 6900 block of Juniper, said his wife was home and taking shelter in the bathtub when the storm blew through and snapped the tree a few feet off the ground.

Richard Moore, 30, said his wife called him at work to tell him of the damage.

"The only thing she was doing was screaming," Moore said Tuesday, recalling the phone call while waiting for an insurance adjuster. "She said the tree was in the house and water was pouring in."

No one was injured, but the house suffered significant damage, Moore said.

At least one school system, the Waldron School District, was closed Tuesday, and there were numerous reports of storm-related damage around the state. The National Weather Service reported the following:

• Multiple trees down across roads south of Wickes and damage to structures in Big Fork in Polk County.
• Trees down in Union County, including one on a community center in Strong.
• A chicken house blown apart by winds and a barn blown over in Mansfield in Scott County.
• Utility poles snapped and minor roof damage to a building in Shibley in Crawford County.
• Major damage to a home in Delight in Pike County.
• Trees down and some structure damage to a home and garage in London in Pope County.
• Several destroyed chicken houses and two homes with trees on them in Danville in Yell County.
• Numerous trees on houses in Hot Springs Village in Garland County.
• Trees down and part of a roof blown off a structure in El Paso in White County.

The storm also blew down a tree onto eastbound Interstate 30 in Benton, blocking it for a time Monday night. It had been cleared and traffic was moving through the area Tuesday morning.

In Garland County, Hot Springs residents are asked to conserve water through the evening to allow water tanks to refill after a power failure at the Ouachita Water Treatment Plant. The plant generator was damaged by a lightning strike, but the plant resumed production Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Walkway Drive in Garland County is closed to through traffic Tuesday morning because of a downed tree and power line and is expected to reopen about noon.