LITTLE ROCK — Utility crews restored power to thousands Wednesday, and workers cleared trees from roadways and off houses after a storm system packing winds up to 70 mph blasted through the state Tuesday evening.
One person was slightly injured when his Drew County home was struck by lightning, authorities said. The man, who lives southeast of Monticello, did not seek medical attention.
More than 15,000 Entergy Arkansas customers lost power at the storm’s peak Tuesday evening, spokesman Julie Munsell said. Crews were expected to have all service restored by Wednesday evening, she said.
The storms formed Tuesday afternoon along the leading edge of a strong cold front that entered Northwest Arkansas.
The storms roared across Arkansas, leaving a path of damage. The system had left the state by midnight, said National Weather Service meteorologist Marty Trexler of North Little Rock.
“These storms [featured] accelerated winds,” Trexler said. “The wind fields were very strong, and with that you get wind damage and rotation.”
The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings, although a team that inspected stormdamage Wednesday did not confirm that any tornadoes had touched down. The team will resume its survey today in Grant, Jefferson and Saline counties.
Temperatures dropped as the system passed. In Monticello, the temperature fell from 79 degrees Tuesday afternoon to 31 degrees Wednesday evening.
Light snow and sleet were reported in Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday morning, Trexler said.
Because the storm moved so rapidly Tuesday night - meteorologists said the system was traveling at about 50 mph - it didn’t produce the tornadic weather that forecasters had first feared Tuesday. But it did create strong winds and resulting damage.
In Monticello, winds of at least 60 mph blew the University of Arkansas at Monticello rodeo-arena barn off its foundation, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
The 21-by-130-foot barn was blown about 100 feet. Several horses kept in the 12 metal stalls inside the barn were not injured, he said.
“We are gratified that everyone, including our rodeo livestock, came through theincident unscathed,” UAM Chancellor Jack Lassiter said in a news release.
“The building was anchored to concrete blocks,” said Michael Frisby, coordinator of the Drew County Office of Emergency Management. “When it went up, the blocks went with it. The wind set it down crushed.”
Winds also toppled trees along Arkansas 38 in Drew County, and fallen utility lines sparked a fire in woods near Monticello, Frisby said.
Two vehicles struck trees that had fallen onto roadways in the county, he added.
In Northwest Arkansas, trees struck homes in Carroll and Madison counties, and farmers reported numerous cattle deaths in damaged dairy barns, Jackson said.
Also, flooding washed out several county road bridges in Madison County, he said.
Heavy rain caused a rock slide and blocked one lane of Arkansas 5 north of Mountain View in Stone County on Tuesday evening. A state Highway and Transportation Department crew cleared the roadway, Jackson said.
Roof damage was reported at a seed company in Bay in Craighead County and at a private school building in Jonesboro.
In Jackson County, deputies activated their patrol unit sirens and drove through the county, notifying residents of a tornado warning after theweather sirens failed, Sheriff David Lucas said.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for western Jackson County about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, but the warning sirens in the area did not go off, he said.
Lucas said deputies also switched their car radios to a different frequency to talk with dispatchers so that residents who own scanner radios could hear their reports.
“We got lucky,” Lucas said. “There were no tornadoes, and there wasn’t a lot of damage.”
Temperatures are expected to drop into the teens in northern Arkansas tonight and into the mid-20s for the rest of the state.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 01/31/2013