EF1 tornado in Washington County, Arkansas

This is the third segment of a four-segment tornado. The tornado moved into Washington County just north of Brush Road. It moved northeast, crossing Highway 59 and Highway 244, before moving into Benton County. Numerous trees were uprooted in Washington County, and many large tree limbs were snapped. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 90 to 100 mph.

Strong to severe thunderstorms developed into and across northwestern Arkansas during the afternoon of the 4th, in an unseasonably moist and unstable air mass ahead of an approaching cold front. The atmosphere became very unstable ahead of the thunderstorms. The deep-layer and low-level wind shear strengthened during the afternoon, in response to a strong storm system translating into the Southern Plains from the Southern Rockies. The combination of very unstable air and very strong wind shear resulted in the development of some supercell thunderstorms, which produced several tornadoes across Benton and Washington Counties. Locally heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding across portions of Benton, Madison, and Franklin Counties.