The National Weather Service office in Little Rock sent staff members to Pine Bluff to survey damage from Tuesday’s storms that were responsible for destroying a barn and a house.
The National Weather Service said that straight-line winds from a very strong microburst was noted near W 13th Avenue, just west of Pine Bluff. Damage consisted of large tree branches broken, small trees uprooted, concrete-support posts pulled out of the ground, damaged homes, destroyed buildings, and snapped tree trunks.
Winds were estimated between 60-100 miles per hour during the storm. Storm damage was found in an area 0.6 miles in length by 0.2 miles wide.
Weather.gov identifies a microburst as a downdraft (sinking air) in a thunderstorm that is less than 2.5 miles in scale. Some microbursts can pose a threat to life and property, but all microbursts pose a significant threat to aviation. Although microbursts are not as widely recognized as tornadoes, they can cause comparable, and in some cases, worse damage than some tornadoes produce. In fact, wind speeds as high as 150 mph are possible in extreme microburst cases.
