National Weather Service crews confirmed that a tornado touched down Monday night in Saline County and are continuing to assess damage throughout the state as residents begin clearing debris caused by the storms.
Crews found damage consistent with an EF1 tornado that touched down 1 mile west of Avilla and traveled 2.7 miles before receding northeast of the city six minutes later, according to the weather service.
No injuries or deaths were reported.
The American Red Cross reported that four homes sustained significant damage in Saline County and that one family was receiving financial assistance.
"We dodged a bullet," Red Cross spokesman Brigette Williams said. "We were lucky in that most trees landed between homes."
She said a home was also destroyed in Salem, and the Red Cross is providing that family with financial assistance as well.
A 1958 Cessna 182 and a 1963 Mooney M20C were destroyed at the Salem airport, where the terminal building and six aircraft hangars were razed to the ground, manager Ron Plumlee said.
Several other hangars sustained damage in the storm that blew metal and tree limbs onto the runway, he said.
"It was a pretty severe storm that twisted metal around and just shredded it," he said.
Plumlee said the airport was closed until further notice as emergency crews and insurance workers arrived to assess the damage.
Meteorologists said they hoped to confirm if a tornado caused the damage in Salem by Tuesday afternoon.
Across the state, storm debris and strong winds caused damage to utility poles, which resulted in thousands of power failures.
Entergy reported more than 5,000 homes were without power during the storm's peak at 11:45 p.m. Monday. The utility company restored power to 4,500 customers by 9 a.m. Tuesday, but more than 500 were still without power.
Entergy officials said they hoped to restore power to all residents by noon.
As cleanup began throughout the state, forecasters said to expect another round of severe weather Wednesday night in Northwest Arkansas.
Thunderstorms forming over northeast Oklahoma and southern Missouri will dip into Arkansas by midnight Wednesday and push through the state Thursday afternoon, National Weather Service meteorologist Julie Lesko said.
The greatest risk for severe weather exists in Northwest Arkansas, but strong thunderstorms and straight-line winds could develop in central and southeast Arkansas, she said.
While tornadoes are possible, they are unlikely, and the primary concern is hail and damaging winds, according to the weather service.
"The overall setup of this storm doesn’t look as strong as last night, but yesterday didn’t reach its full potential," Lesko said. "Last night could have been much worse than what it was because it was rainy and overcast for much of the day, so that limited its potential. But it is Arkansas, so Arkansans should continue to watch for rapidly changing conditions."
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
