Storm Causes Damage in 13 Arkansas Counties

Storms with wind gusts nearing hurricane speed cut across Oklahoma and Arkansas on June 12, causing damage in at least 13 Arkansas counties.

Tommy Jackson, a spokesman with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, says Conway and Johnson counties have reported structural damage from the storm. Jackson says damage appears to be at its worst near Saint Vincent on Arkansas 95 in Conway County and in Clarksville.

Funnel clouds were reported but not confirmed in Faulkner, Jackson and Poinsett Counties.

Other counties reporting damage were Crawford, Faulkner, Franklin, Newton, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Scott, Sebastian, White and Yell counties. Jackson says the damage included downed tree limbs and power lines.

The agency says it’s received no reports of injuries or fatalities.

The storm developed out of Kansas and traveled through Oklahoma before entering Arkansas. The storm delayed the NCAA track and field championships in Fayetteville about four hours. The weather service had reports of wind gusts of up to 85 mph in Rogers and 75 mph in Oil Trough in east Arkansas.

Entergy Arkansas says more than 38,000 customers were without electricity Friday afternoon. Most of Entergy’s outages were in Faulkner and Pope Counties.

First Electric Cooperative, which serves parts of central and southeast Arkansas, says it had 24,000 customers without power.