Arkansas evaded major damage when a storm system descended on the state Wednesday evening, forecasters said, noting more severe weather is predicted for the weekend.
The National Weather Service said a rain-wrapped tornado touched down for a brief period around 7:20 p.m. in an open field in Pope County. The twister was on the ground on Gunner Mountain Road in Hector, a small town northeast of Scottsville.
Winds in the area blew between 90 to 110 mph, he said, and there were some trees blown down near Mountain Pine, though no property damage or injuries were reported. The weather service got word of quarter-sized hail in Cherokee Village, Damascus, Buffalo City, Diamond City and Havana, meteorologist Joe Goudsward said. There was also a funnel cloud hovering over Faulkner County northwest of Wooster that never touched down, he said.
“We were probably a little bit lucky,” Goudsward said. “The potential was there.”
A tornado watch covered a large portion of Arkansas until midnight Wednesday.
There were a few “ingredients” in the atmosphere that could have led to more intense storms, Goudsward said. For one, the weather service measured a lot of wind shear, meaning gusts were changing speed and direction with height, he said.
Texas and Oklahoma had experienced severe weather the previous night, which Goudsward said might have dampened the storms’ potential by the time they reached Arkansas. Clouds from those systems moved over Arkansas and prevented sunlight from shining through, which probably kept things a little more stable, he said. The storms that did form could not maintain themselves for very long, he noted.
“It could have been a lot worse, based on the meteorological set-up,” Goudsward said.
The National Weather Service's Little Rock office staffs two people around the clock and brings in extra help when there's potential for strong to severe storms. Seven people were monitoring conditions Wednesday night until the threat passed. The last warning was issued at 12:43 a.m.
Forecasters are predicting severe weather may return to the southern portion of the state this weekend. Strong thunderstorms could accumulate in the afternoon on Sunday, Goudsward said, cautioning that a lot may change in the forecast between now and then.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.