The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF2 tornado touched down near Cato, Arkansas, on Friday, destroying four mobile homes and injuring six.
The short-lived tornado touched down at 11:20 p.m. Friday just south of Frenchman Mountain Road in Pulaski County, about 20 miles north of Little Rock. It remained on the ground for four miles and packed wind speeds of 111-120 mph.
Four mobile homes were destroyed at Lowridge Road, while several others were damaged. At least six people in the mobile homes received minor injuries, including a man who became trapped beneath a mobile home, Mitchell McCoy of KARK4 News reported. One person on the scene said he and several others helped pull numerous people out of what remained of the mobile homes.
“Before the police came, we heard people screaming, so we went out there and did what we could to help,” the man told KARK4 News. “We know everybody out here, so we just try to help everybody, that’s it.”
There were several tornado warnings issued Friday night in Arkansas, with numerous reports of high winds and hail associated with a line of storms that moved East across the viewing area.
The Lasalle Parish Sheriff’s Office received a report of damage incurred to a canopy over gas pumps at the Airport Grocery on Highway 8, reports KNOE. Roof damage was also reported at the Family Life Center of Midway Pentecostal Church. No injuries were reported.
A tree reportedly fell on a home in Lawson, Arkansas, the Union County Sheriff’s Office told KNOE. He told the station no one was hurt in that incident and said deputies were dispatched to the Dixie Mart in Parkers Chapel, where the roof of a car wash fell in on top of a vehicle. Again, no injuries were reported.
According to the Associated Press, the Ringgold Assembly of God Church in Ringgold, Louisiana, was destroyed by the line of storms. No injuries were reported.
More than 15,000 were without power in parts of Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas following the storms.
More severe weather is expected on Saturday, says weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles. A few scattered severe storms are possible through this evening from southern Mississippi into parts of Alabama.
“Locally damaging winds and perhaps a tornado are the bigger threats,” Belles said. “Storms should begin to wane by late evening into the overnight hours.”
by Pam Wright
Mar 25 2017 03:00 PM EDT
