Severe thunderstorms that moved through the state Monday night produced straight-line winds exceeding 80 mph, knocked out power to thousands, caused extensive damage in north Arkansas and a likely tornado in central Arkansas, the National Weather Service said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The straight-line wind damage was concentrated in and around the Salem and Mammoth Springs communities in Fulton County, said John Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's office in North Little Rock.
"There are trees down, trees on houses, aircraft thrown around at the airport in Salem," Lewis said, adding that early estimates of the wind speed was between 80 mph and 90 mph.
The office likely will send personnel to the area today to assess the damage and gather more information on the nature of the storm.
A house was damaged near the Saline County community of Avilla, which is just across the Pulaski County line, Lewis said.
"It was 3 miles east-northeast of Avilla," he said. "It lines up really well with the rotation we saw [on the radar]. We're thinking it was a tornado."
Meanwhile, Entergy Arkansas reported that 5,051 customers were without power as of midnight Monday, with nearly half of them in Pulaski County.
Metro on 05/10/2016