Tornado warnings issued north of Little Rock as storms surge; overturned vehicles, 18-wheeler slow traffic

An 18-wheeler overturned Thursday in Little Rock.
An 18-wheeler overturned Thursday in Little Rock.

A surge of storms swept through much of Arkansas Thursday afternoon, triggering several tornado warnings as powerful winds knocked over trees and even commercial trucks around the Little Rock metro area.

The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings across central Arkansas around 1 p.m., and winds up to 70 mph in one area. Officials confirmed a tornado touched down in eastern Arkansas near Swifton.

Many of the warnings expired within a half-hour of being issued.

Sirens in Little Rock weren’t sounding at the time of a tornado alert for northern Pulaski County. The weather service noted a possible tornado may have swirled within the city.

“We were not anticipating tornadoes today,” said Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dennis Cavanaugh, adding that forecasters at the North Little Rock bureau mainly expected heavy rains on Thursday.

He said storm system fell apart in Oklahoma earlier and created a system that can sometimes cause tornadoes to swirl up. They’re often small and short-lived, “but they’re still tornados,” Cavanaugh said.

Officials also issued a tornado Tornado near Vilonia, raising the specter of the deadly tornado that struck the area in 2014 and killed more than a dozen people.

Cavanaugh said the reported damage happened south of the town.

The storms ripped down trees and powerlines, and officials also noted multiple flooded roads in central Arkansas that saw emergency crews rescue drivers in rising waters.

Pulaski County Emergency Services spokeswoman Cozetta Jones said it hadn't received notice of any injuries or damaged homes.

But officials closed multiple roads because of downed trees that took down power lines, as well as closures because of flooding, she said.

Authorities in Little Rock noted multiple overturned vehicles along Interstate 30 while the metro area was under a severe thunderstorm warning.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation listed an overturned 18-wheeler blocking the inside right shoulder along I-30. Traffic cameras showed slow-moving traffic while officials responded to the area around 1 p.m.

An Arkansas State Police spokesman said no one was hurt.

Authorities also noted tipped over vehicles along Baseline Road that could have been knocked over by a small tornado.

Cavanaugh said weather service crews were checking the damage for indications that it might have been caused by a tornado.

Capt. Jason Weaver with the Little Rock Fire Department said crews responded to multiple water rescues and reports of downed trees and power lines throughout the day.

He couldn’t recall any significant injuries.

“Our guys were running like crazy, but it was otherwise pretty uneventful,” Weaver said.

Entergy reported thousands of customer outages throughout the state at 4 p.m., with the majority of disruptions in Pulaski County.

The National Weather Service issued also flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings for much of Pulaski County during the afternoon as heavy rains pummeled the metro and other parts of Arkansas.

Forecasters expect more than two inches of rain could fall in the Little Rock area by Saturday as the storms downgrade.

“Things are going to really start to calm down here,” Cavanaugh said.

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