Arkansas tornado is in the spotlight after videos of a powerful and massive whirlwind near Lake City and Monette went viral on social media. The strong windstorm prompted authorities to issue a tornado emergency for Blytheville, Trumann, Manila and Gosnell. As per National Weather Service’ (NWS) tornado alert, residents were advised to seek shelter in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.
NWS in a post on X stated, “This is a life threatening situation. Seek shelter now.” Weather agencies attributed the violent weather conditions as a combination of multiple factors. Daytime heating combined with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture from the Gulf jointly contributed to the devastating phenomenon.
‘Wedge tornado’
Netizens strongly reacted to the catastrophic weather phenomenon wreaking havoc across Arkansas, as one user stated, “WOW! Large wedge tornado ongoing NOW in Lake City, Arkansas. This storm is tracking towards west KY.” Another user wrote, “Oh my God the Lake City, Arkansas tornado is so bad. I’m going to be sick.”
A third user stated, “There is no way this tornado is not a mid level EF-4 or possibly higher tornado.” A fourth user commented, “This Tornado Ripping Buildings In Half.”
The tornado comes hours after NWS issued a warning on Wednesday with respect to high-magnitude tornadoes. This accompanies deadly flash flooding warning and baseball-sized hail in the coming days. In the wake of potential inclement weather conditions, tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi.
The National Weather Service said the potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” each day through Saturday. Meteorologist Chelly Amin said a tornado emergency was briefly declared around Blytheville, Arkansas, Wednesday evening, with debris lofted at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometres), AP reported.
In the aftermath, several structures were damaged, cars overturned, power poles were snapped, the state emergency management agency said. Roads and highways were shut down and utility lines were cut, according to the state transportation department.
