Storms hammer state; thousands lose power

A line of storms stretching from Arkansas’ southwestern edge to its far north spawned possible tornadoes and left a trail of damaged homes and power failures involving more than 23,000 people Saturday, authorities said.

The National Weather Service issued more than two dozen severe weather advisories, severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings Saturday as the storm line raced across the state.

A warning issued for Lonoke County indicated that winds reached upward of 70 mph in that area Saturday evening, National Weather Service Meteorologist John Lewis said.

Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Melody Daniel said no injuries had been reported to that office as of 5 p.m., though a handful of counties had reported damage to buildings and roads blocked by downed trees.

“I think it’s safe to say we’ve had isolated tornadoes, but they’re brief and weak if they’re there,” Lewis said. “We’re going to find some of those, but overall the event hasn’t been as huge as it could have been. We expected more than what we’ve gotten.”

A power-failure map for Oklahoma Gas and Electric, which supplies power to much of Northwest Arkansas, said more than 14,000 customers in the Fort Smith area and more than 1,000 customers in the surrounding areas were without power as of Saturday evening.

Entergy Arkansas reported about 8,400 customers were without power statewide as of 6 p.m. Saturday.

Early Saturday afternoon, high winds from what could have been a tornado toppled trees and damaged multiple buildings in Fort Smith, Daniel said.

The National Weather Service will confirm whether the storms were tornadoes in the coming days, Daniel said.

Scott Lucas, a Fort Smith resident, said strong winds toppled a large pecan tree near his home and damaged

The Texarkana Symphony Orchestra has named Philip Mann as its new music director and principal conductor.

Mann — outgoing music director and conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in Little Rock — will conduct at the season-opening concert Oct. 5. He’s signed an initial three-year contract to start his duties June 1. Plans call to have Mann in residence for seven weeks out of the year.

Mann’s experience includes guest conductor appearances all over the world with symphony orchestras, operas and music festivals. A Rhodes scholar to Oxford University, he holds degrees from Arizona State University, Indiana University and the University of Sydney, Sydney Conservatory.

He had been serving for nine years leading the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in Little Rock, a post he completes in June, and he now holds the position of director of orchestral studies at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where he lives with his wife.

A Colorado native, he’s also served as assistant conductor for performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra overseas, and Cleveland Orchestra stateside.

Mann guest-conducted in Texarkana in March 2018 for a night of masterworks.