EF1 Tornado — Sebastian, Arkansas

2025-05-19 · near Enterprise, Sebastian, Arkansas

Event narrative

This is the second segment of a two segment tornado. The tornado moved into Sebastian County west of Bonanza and moved northeast toward White Bluff. It was weak between Highway 112, across the north side of Bonanza, to just west of Highway 71, with mostly small trees uprooted and large tree limbs snapped in that segment of the path. It strengthened as it approached Highway 71, where trees were uprooted or snapped. The tornado then moved across Fort Chaffee, where 40 buildings were damaged, and trees were snapped or uprooted, and then turned east-northeast, dissipating before crossing Highway 22. It produced a tornadic debris signature from the KSRX WSR-88D. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 100 to 110 mph.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms developed over central Oklahoma along and ahead of a dry line during the afternoon of the 19th, as an upper level disturbance approached the Southern Plains. These thunderstorms moved northeast off the dry line and across portions of northwestern Arkansas during the evening hours. The atmosphere east of the dry line across northwestern Arkansas became very unstable during the afternoon and evening, and this instability combined with strong deep-layer and low-level wind shear, resulted in the development of a severe squall line. Multiple tornadoes and large hail up to quarter size occurred with these thunderstorms across portions of northwestern Arkansas. Locally heavy rainfall also produced some flash flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.2380, -94.4370)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1264153. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.