At least eleven tornadoes struck parts of Arkansas in severe storms Friday afternoon through Saturday morning, the National Weather Service said.
Two of those twisters were ranked EF-2 storms, while six others were confirmed as EF-1 tornadoes, according to survey reports released by the agency’s North Little Rock, Tulsa, Shreveport and Jackson offices.
Additional storm surveys were still set in Arkansas, meaning the tally could potentially increase if more tornado paths are discovered, according to the weather service.
One of the strongest twisters in Arkansas’ weekend storms, an EF-2, hit Mountainburg in southeast Crawford County late Friday afternoon, according to a storm survey. It had winds between 110 and 120 mph.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday toured areas hit by that storm, which left four people hurt. Damage was reported to 160 buildings in Crawford County.
Surveyors say another EF-2 touched down in Montrose in Ashley County.
Two EF-1 tornadoes were reported in Crossett in Ashley County and another pair of the same scale traversed El Dorado in Union County.
Single EF-1 tornadoes were reported in Gamaliel in Baxter County; Lavaca in Sebastian and Franklin counties; Ozone in Johnson County; and Umpire in Howard County.
An EF-0 tornado, with estimated winds between 65 and 85 mph, touched down Friday night in Oppelo in Conway County.
Twenty tornadoes have been reported so far this year in Arkansas, the weather service said.
As storms exited Arkansas, colder weather entered the state. The effects lingered into Monday, when temperatures were at or below freezing across much of the state.
The temperature hit 32 degrees that morning Little Rock, marking the second-latest freeze on record dating back to 1879, the weather service said. The only later freeze happened April 19, 1983.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.