South Central States Assess Damage from Recent Storms

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Tornadoes, violent thunderstorms, high wind and hail struck large swaths of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas last week and now those states are beginning the process of assessing the damage.

In Arkansas, storms killed seven people, left a trail of downed power lines, toppled trees and harmed agricultural interests. A tornado early on April 15 ran through west Little Rock, while another hit about 6 1/2 miles south of Scott, said John Robinson, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Little Rock. He said the storms may have caused more injuries because they hit while people were sleeping.

Homes all over the state were damaged by high winds and falling trees.

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture says some wheat fields were flattened in Lonoke County, which will result in lost yield. Some farm trailers were overturned.

In Prairie County, where wheat was also blown down, high winds damaged sheds that house power units. Chicken houses were damaged in Polk and Stone counties.

The storm did bring one benefit for farmers, some much-needed rain. Many parts of the state got between 1 and 2 inches of rain.

Minor property damage was reported in Fort Smith and its suburbs.

Weather officials said preliminary assessments show at least five tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma on April 14. National Weather Service meteorologist Ty Judd said the most powerful of the twisters hit the town of Tushka in southeast Oklahoma, where at least two people were killed and dozens injured. Other twisters touched down briefly in Lincoln County, northwest of Stroud, and near Lake of the Arbuckles in southern Oklahoma.

A small tornado also touched down near Madill, and a fifth tornado developed east of Tushka near the town of Lane.

In addition to killing two people, the Tushka tornado injured dozens of others, and damaged or destroyed homes and buildings. The storm ripped off the high school’s roof, blew out the second story of one of the buildings and scattered textbooks about the grounds.

Insured losses from the April 10 storms in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, area are expected to reach $100 million, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. Less than a week later a second round of thunderstorms struck the area with high winds and large hail. Suburbs in the northern part of the metroplex wer the hardest hit. Hail as large as golf balls was reported as well as wind gusts of 74 miles per hour. More than 1,000 homeowners have reported insured losses.