EF1 Tornado — Benton, Arkansas

2025-06-18 · near Maysville, Benton, Arkansas

Event narrative

This tornado developed south of Leonard Ranch Road and east of School House Road. It moved east, uprooting numerous trees along Leonard Ranch Road, and then turned northeast as it approached Beaty Road. Numerous trees were uprooted as it crossed Beaty Road and Big Spring Road, before the tornado dissipated. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 100 to 105 mph.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed over north central and northwestern Oklahoma during the early evening of the 17th, near an outflow boundary from earlier thunderstorms, and north of a developing warm front that stretched across the area. The atmosphere ahead of the thunderstorms over eastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas had become very unstable. The strong instability combined with strong wind fields and strong wind shear associated with an intense upper level disturbance moving through the region, resulted in a few supercells that evolved into a severe squall line that moved into northwestern Arkansas during the late evening of the 17th, and early morning hours of the 18th. Damaging wind and a several tornadoes occurred as the storms moved through the area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.4340, -94.5640)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1279697. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.