2 tornadoes reported after Laura sweeps through Arkansas; wind damage widely reported

The National Weather Service is investigating at least two reports of tornadoes in Arkansas from the remnants of Hurricane Laura.

The state also saw widespread wind damage, and more than 30,000 Arkansans remained without power as of 11:30 a.m. Friday, according to an outage map from Entergy Arkansas.

Dan Koch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said no tornadoes had been confirmed as of 11 a.m. but the weather service was sending crews to investigate the reports and survey damage.

According to one report under investigation, a tornado crossed U.S. 70 about five miles southwest of Forrest City 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

A second reported but still unconfirmed tornado caused “significant damage” around 2:15 a.m. to Refuge Church on Arkansas 18, west of Lake City.

Pastor Steve Hinkle surveyed the damage after a tornado gutted the church: An outdoor pavilion was reduced to rubble. A brick shed was shredded. The fellowship and family life center was a tangle of bent metal beams. Yellow insulation littered the churchyard.

"It skipped right over the house and hit every other building that the church has other than us," said Hinkle, who huddled with his family in the parsonage bathroom after they saw transformers blow out in the distance. "We're blessed."

Another storm report states there was significant damage to trees and at least one home north of Goobertown in Craighead County, and attributes the damage to a “possible tornado.”

Straight-line winds also downed trees and power lines throughout the night and early morning, especially in northeast Arkansas, according to other reports.

The weather service said the highest wind gusts from the storm were recorded in and around El Dorado, at 56 mph, and gusts in the upper 40s and low 50s were reported from Arkadelphia to Little Rock to Monticello to West Memphis.

The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management reported two significant flood impacts. In Lee County, at least one road was “washed out” during the storm, according to a news release, and in Saline County, high water levels closed at least one road.

A total of 2-4 inches of rain was reported for a large swath of the state from south central Arkansas to the northeast, according to the weather service.

Koch said the one of the highest rainfall totals was in Ravenden, with 5.31 inches. Little Rock reported 3.1 inches at the airport, while the weather service office in North Little Rock saw 4.37 inches.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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