An EF3 tornado caused massive damage in Little Rock as winds reached 165 mph during Friday’s storms, the National Weather Service confirmed.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An EF3 tornado caused damage in Little Rock during Friday’s storms, the National Weather Service confirmed.
“Damage with winds up to 165 mph have been observed,” the NWS tweeted.
The damage was observed at Breckenridge and N. Shackleford Road.
That would nearly rank as an EF4 tornado. According to the NWS, an EF3 tornado’s speeds are between 136 and 165 mph.
Though there were no known fatalities in Little Rock, more than 50 people were injured. There was a total of 2,648 structures that were impacted.
The survey is ongoing and is expected to take several days before it’s complete.
The tornado in Little Rock was confirmed around 2:25 p.m. Friday over the Reservoir Road area. It went from Little Rock to Jacksonville.
In a press conference Saturday morning, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. said that about 2,100 residents were impacted by the tornado.
Photos and drone video show some of the devastation left behind by the storms. Businesses were damaged, trees were toppled and homes were destroyed.
Gov. Sanders has requested the following Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden:
- Individual assistance and public assistance categories A and B for Cross, Lonoke, and Pulaski Counties
- Direct federal assistance
- Hazard Mitigation statewide
The tornado was part of an outbreak that spawned dozens of tornadoes across the South and Midwest Friday. As of Saturday afternoon, there were 18 reported fatalities. Five of those were in Arkansas, with another 7 in Tennessee.