EF1 Tornado — Pulaski, Arkansas

2011-04-15 · near Cammack Vlg, Pulaski, Arkansas

Event narrative

This tornado's track was entirely within the city limits of Little Rock. It touched down southwest of the intersection of W. Markham and John Barrow Rd. and ended in the Sherrill Heights neighborhood. While there was some shingle damage to houses, the vast majority of the damage was due to trees falling on houses and vehicles. The Leawood subdivision and The Heights were hard-hit. A Red Cross survey indicated two houses were destroyed, 36 suffered major damage, 49 had minor damage, and 37 others were affected. As of 7:00 AM CDT on the 15th, the Little Rock Police Department reported more than 40 streets blocked by fallen trees. A 34 year-old woman and her 7 year-old son were killed on Cynthia Dr. when a huge tree fell into the bedroom of their house. The root system of the tree was so large that it lifted a shed off the ground. On the same block, another huge tree was uprooted and the tree pulled natural gas lines out of the ground as it fell.

Wider weather episode

A cold front and strong area of low pressure aloft approached Arkansas on the 14th. The result was an outbreak of severe weather from the evening of the 14th through the pre-dawn hours of the 15th. Several tornadoes occurred. Additionally, storms developed into line segments which often bowed out, creating damaging thunderstorm winds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.7501, -92.3773)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 289571. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.