Tornado touchdown confirmed in part of Arkansas

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down briefly in Pope County on Wednesday evening, but meteorologists said more severe storms that were expected overnight didn't form.

A short-lived twister formed in a field on Gunner Mountain Road near Hector about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, said meteorologist Heather Cross of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. The tornado was rain-wrapped, meaning falling rain from a supercell thunderstorm is caught in the rotating winds of a twister, and was difficult to see.

There was no damage reported, and the Weather Service did not send a survey team to Pope County to measure the tornado's track.

Meteorologist Joe Goudsward of the the National Weather Service in North Little Rock said the twister's winds reached up to 110 mph.

Meteorologists also suspect a tornado may have touched down in Lake Ouachita in Garland County on Wednesday evening.

Much of the state was under a tornado watch Wednesday, meaning conditions were favorable for the formation of tornadoes. The Weather Service also issued several thunderstorm warnings during the afternoon and evening.

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news alerts, daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

Winds of up to 100 mph were recorded near Mountain Pine in Garland County and 1-inch diameter hail fell in Cherokee Village in Fulton and Sharp counties, Cross said. There also were severe thunderstorms reported in Baxter, Conway, Fulton, Perry, Saline, Searcy and Van Buren counties during the evening.

"We're fortunate it was not as bad as it could have been," Cross said.

Forecasters originally said the state saw a moderate risk for hail, damaging winds and the possibility of tornadoes.

Goudsward said storms in Oklahoma and Texas the previous night created cloud cover over Arkansas on Wednesday, blocking sunlight and keeping air cooler and more stable in the state.

"There wasn't enough sunshine to get things really cooking," he said.

Additional storms in Louisiana pulled some of the system's energy out of Arkansas on Wednesday evening as well, Cross said.

More storms are forecast for Saturday evening through Monday, she said. Some storms could be severe, she said.

State Desk on 03/31/2017

Upcoming Events