Storm hits at midnight
Debris is scattered, fences are down, shingles litter the ground along a path from the west along Arkansas 72 (Slack Street) from It’ll Do Road to East Harris Street. Some of the worst damage — a tree on a house on Frost Street, a roof torn off a house on North Davis Street just north of Lee Town Road — is closest to Slack Street.
Alex and Jessica Kelly said they were awakened by a noise, but unsure what it was until the dog started barking because a police officer was knocking on their door to inform them a tree was across their house. No one was injured and the couple packed a bag and headed to a relative’s house for the remainder of the night. After daylight, they examined the damage to find limbs through the roof of the garage, the power had been disconnected and there was damage from the rain getting in through the hole in the roof.
“That tree looked a lot smaller when it was standing,” Jessica said, ruefully Tuesday morning.
Several area residents commented on social media that their fences were down, shingles were missing from their roofs and trampolines were either damaged or missing.
The roof was blown off the dugout at the baseball field at Blackjack corner (Arkansas 72/ Arkansas 94) and the cable that
supports the net behind home plate was snapped, according to assistant baseball coach Matt Easterling who was busy cleaning up debris on the field Tuesday morning.
“Our officers were actively working in the midst of the storm,” Police Chief Ryan Walker said, adding that a gas meter that was hit on Davis Street by the debris from a roof blown of a nearby house and there were multiple reports of trees on houses. “We were doing our best to be apprised of the situation and keep our citizens safe.”
School superintendent Rick Neal said a tree fell on the back side of the Professional Development Center and the roof was damaged on the old gym behind the Intermediate School.
Street superintendent Nathan See said there is damage on Hazelton Road, too. He warned residents to be aware of scams from people offering to repair damage and to watch for debris in the roads. He said the city burn pile is open and limbs and branches may be placed there.
Retired meteorologist Bill Ryan said that although he could not be sure, there could have been a couple of small tornados at the leading edge of the line of the storm. He said there is roof damage to two houses in the Windmill subdivision, with shingles scattered both to the north and the south of the houses.