Tornado threat ended for Arkansas; 1,000 Entergy customers still without power

2:30 P.M. UPDATE:

The National Weather Service has canceled a tornado watch previously in effect for three counties in southern Arkansas.

"The widespread severe weather threat has ended," the agency's North Little Rock office said in its latest outlook at 2:15 p.m.

Only a sliver of Chicot County in extreme southeast Arkansas remained in a slight risk for severe weather at that time.

Showers and thunderstorms are forecast to continue through Monday afternoon as a cold front moves eastward, tapering off in western portions of the state.

The number of outages has also decreased, with just over 1,000 Entergy Arkansas customers without power as of Monday afternoon.

The highest concentration of reported power failures at that time was in Phillips County, with more than 800 outages.

Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story.

EARLIER STORY:

A tornado watch has been issued for portions of southern Arkansas as heavy rain continues to move through much of the state.

Counties along the Arkansas-Louisiana border included in that watch, which is in effect until 5 p.m., are Columbia, Lafayette and Union.

The National Weather Service office in Shreveport, La., said widespread showers and thunderstorms could become severe at times, with the possibility of damaging winds and isolated tornadoes. Some areas could see 2 inches of rain or more Monday.

The southeastern third of Arkansas faces an enhanced threat for severe weather along a cold front that will push through Monday afternoon and into the evening hours, the agency’s North Little Rock office said.

Thousands of homes and businesses were without power Monday morning, according to Entergy Arkansas’ outage map.

In Little Rock, scattered power failures were reported on the city’s west and south sides, affecting more than 30 customers. Countywide, more than 330 Pulaski County customers were without electricity as of about 11:40 a.m.

At that time, Cross County in northeast Arkansas had the largest amount of outages per county at more than 620.

Statewide, more than 2,553 customers were without power.

Heavy rainfall continued its eastward march shortly before noon, with a heavy band pushing northeast through areas east of Pine Bluff.

Information for this report was contributed by The Associated Press.

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