The path length was 600 yards. The strongest tornado, which had an estimated peak wind of 165mph, occurred at 2:58 pm in southeast Cabot and ended in west Little Rock at 2:20 pm on Friday. The tornado was on the ground for nearly 32 miles for over half an hour. This brings the count of tornadoes across Arkansas for the year so far. This brings the count of tornadoes to 5 on Friday, with a total of 17 so far. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service confirmed an additional tornado in Memphis from Friday, March 31st. On Monday, two additional tornadoes were reported in Little Rock by the National Weather Service crews.
The initial tornado started at 2:20pm on Friday in the southwesterly area of Kanis Road, near Hartford Street in the western section of Little Rock.
Crews said that a rapidly intensifying tornado began to pass over northeast Chenal Parkway, causing severe damage to several apartment buildings in Napa Valley Drive.
Residences and establishments, including a Kroger, suffered damage from the storm after traversing I-430 close to the North Rodney Parham Road junction. Additionally, a commercial complex experienced the impact.
Numerous residences and flats experienced extensive destruction between I-430 and Cantrell Road, with roofs forcefully torn away and countless trees displaced, as reported by NWS crews.
The storm proceeded to uproot and break trees at Murray Park, before advancing towards Cammack Village and causing further destruction to apartments and businesses in close proximity to Foxcroft Road after traversing Cantrell. Subsequently, the storm crossed Cantrell in the vicinity of Foxcroft Road.
After departing from Murray Park, crews reported that the tornado displaced or broke hundreds, if not thousands, of trees at Burns Park.
Amboy, where additional residences and establishments were impacted, the storm subsequently traversed I-40 to the west of exit 150 and caused destruction to a recently built fire station that was still in the process of being constructed, along with various other structures, prior to moving over MacArthur Drive close to the intersection of Military Drive.
The storm continued its path of destruction as it crossed over John F. Kennedy Boulevard near Sherwood Road Club and eventually passed over Brockington Road, north of Kiehl Avenue. It then passed over rural marshland in the northwest, near US-67, just west of Redmond, and exited near Jacksonville.
According to NWS crews, the tornado appeared to strengthen while in Jacksonville as it moved over the Holland Bottoms State Wildlife Area west of Kerr Station Road, causing damage to numerous homes and businesses in the vicinity.
NWS officials reported that the tornado ceased its path before passing through southeast Cabot, between Arkansas Hwy 321 and Campground Road, as it exited the wildlife area.
As of Monday, there have been 54 reported injuries and one fatality from the tornado that hit Pulaski County, leaving over 30,000 people without power.
Besides the storm that caused damage to Little Rock and central Arkansas, there was also an EF-3 tornado in Wynne, Arkansas.
The tornado near Lexa in Phillips County was classified as an EF-U (unknown). Numerous public spotters, including Storm Chaser Derek Smith, as well as an emergency manager, observed the tornado. The National Weather Service in Memphis also verified the presence of a tornado near Lexa in Phillips County. Since no signs of damage were discovered, the tornado was categorized as an EF-U.
The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed an EF-2 tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, which started at 4:49 pm on Friday and ended at 4:53 pm. The tornado had a path length of approximately 2.9 miles and estimated peak winds of 111mph. This tornado occurred in Stone County, west of Alco, as observed from Mountain View.
The footage shown above was recorded by Storm Chaser Derek Smith. The least powerful twister was an EF-1 tornado close to Des Arc in Prairie County. It commenced at 3:45 pm on Friday and concluded just a minute later at 3:46 pm. It remained on the surface for a distance of 1.1 miles and resulted in destruction to a barn and the roof.
If you have been impacted by these storms and require assistance, or wish to offer assistance, please visit HelpArkansas.Com.