Meteorologists believe a tornado touched down Monday morning in northeast Arkansas, injuring at least two people as part of a storm system that killed one in the northwest part of the state. A survey team from the National Weather Service in Memphis reported the preliminary EF1 tornado in Tyronza, which City Clerk Donna Wood said tore across a portion of the Poinsett County town shortly before 6 a.m.
Two people were hurt when a service station was nearly “leveled” by storms shortly before 6 a.m., Poinsett County Sheriff Kevin Molder said. The sheriff said he didn’t immediately know the individuals’ conditions. In Benton County, a man died after a tree fell on his Pleasant Ridge home at about 12:30 a.m., Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said. The department had over 100 weather-related calls following the storm, including reports of natural gas leaks, downed power lines and trees.
A power outage occurred at the Northwest Arkansas regional airport, said Chief Operating Officer Kelly Johnson. Generators were being used at the terminal, and airlines were noting boarding passes manually. According to Johnson, roads into the airport from the south were blocked by downed trees and power lines at about 9 a.m. Travelers were advised to have their boarding passes printed at home or have them loaded on a cellphone.
Black Hills Energy reported 65 customers without service shortly before 9 a.m. Repairs are likely to take most of the day due to the difficulty of reaching areas with downed trees and power lines.
