Arkansas storms leave damage, thousands without power; more severe weather in forecast

A storm in Saline County resulted in a mobile home being moved off its foundation, according to Lt. Jeremy Whiley of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Its roof was also “ripped off,” Whiley said.
A storm in Saline County resulted in a mobile home being moved off its foundation, according to Lt. Jeremy Whiley of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Its roof was also “ripped off,” Whiley said.

Early-morning storms Saturday left damage in parts of central Arkansas, the National Weather Service said, and another severe-weather threat is forecast later in the day.

More than 5,500 Entergy customers were without power in Pulaski County shortly before 7 a.m. after storms traversed the region, the agency’s North Little Rock office said. Statewide, about 10,000 customers were said to have been in the dark around 7:40 a.m.

By around 10 a.m., that number had dropped below 1,000, according to Entergy’s online outage map. The utility estimated that it would have power restored by 10 p.m. in the affected communities.

Trees were downed across several areas of central Arkansas in Saturday morning’s storms, including about 3 miles south of Wrightsville, reports show.

In Saline County, two mobile homes were blown off their foundations about two miles southwest of Alexander, according to a storm report. Multiple large tree tops were also reportedly “sheared off” and had fallen onto homes in the area of Mann Lane and Vimy Ridge Road.

The damage was the result of straight-line winds, meteorologist Joe Goudsward said. No significant injuries have been reported.

Forecasters say another round of severe weather is possible statewide Saturday afternoon and into the evening hours.

All but a sliver of extreme south Arkansas is included in a slight risk, meaning short-lived, scattered storms are possible. Strong winds and large hail are the primary threats, the weather service said, adding that isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out.

“Northern Arkansas is shaping up to take the brunt of it later this evening and tonight,” according to the agency.

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NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

All but a sliver of extreme south Arkansas faces a slight risk for severe weather on Saturday, June 23, 2018, according to forecasters.

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