EF2 tornado in Ouachita County, Arkansas
Tornado October 29, 2009 · Ouachita County, Arkansas
NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Ouachita County → Dallas County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.
The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,250 yards (0.71 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.
What the National Weather Service wrote
The tornado caused a massive tree blowdown soon after touching down. It then passed west of Velie and near Amy. One house had part of one wall and a portion of its roof torn off, part of the roof was torn off a mobile home, another mobile home was blown off its foundation, and several outbuildings were damaged. The tornado exited Ouachita County about 3 1/3 miles east-northeast of Smead and continued into Dallas County about 3 2/3 miles west-southwest of Holly Springs.
The wider storm
A large storm system in the Rockies headed through the Plains into the upper Midwest on the 29th. Rain increased ahead of the system, and became widespread in Arkansas. Meanwhile, a cold front arrived from the west. Because the system was so far to the north, it did not give the front much push. The front slowed down, which prolonged the rain. The result was widespread flash flooding, which gave way to areal flooding and river flooding. Winds changed direction and speed up through the atmosphere, a favorable condition for tornadoes. However, instability was sufficient only in southern Arkansas for the development of tornadoes.
Began near Lester (33.6600, -92.8705).
Other tornadoes from the same storm system
6 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 196840. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.
Tornadoes near your address
See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.
We couldn’t get your location. Check that location access is allowed for this site, or type an address.