Storms cause power outages
A line of thunderstorms containing strong winds and lightning moved through Garland County shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday, causing power outages to about 500 customers, Entergy Arkansas Inc. said.
The National Weather Service recording station at Hot Springs Memorial Field reported a wind gust of 47 mph at 7:49 a.m., with sustained winds of 29 mph. By noon, the station had recorded a little more than three-quarters of an inch of rainfall over the past six hours.
Jim Garland, Entergy’s regional customer service manager, said in an email that outages were scattered around Hot Springs and throughout Garland County. Local Entergy crews were able to restore most of the outages by 1 p.m. Thursday, he said.
Survey crews from the National Weather Service were headed to Yellville following reports of a home that was heavily damaged after a tornado might have touched down, Arkansas Online reported.
A tornado warning that included Yellville, Mountain Home, Gassville and Flippin was issued before 4:30 a.m.
Some small damage was reported in the Little Rock metro area, including downed trees and a power lines in the 1800 block of Fair Park Boulevard, according to Arkansas Online.
Thunderstorms brought torrential downpours and damaging winds to parts of Arkansas on Thursday ahead of a return to wintry temperatures expected later in the day, weather forecasters told Arkansas Online.