EF2 Tornado — Garland, Arkansas

2011-04-25 · near Maddox, Garland, Arkansas

Event narrative

This tornado affected areas around the Bear community, Brady Mountain Rd., the eastern end of Lake Ouachita, and Lake Ouachita State Park. A Red Cross survey indicated approximately 1 house destroyed, 4 houses and 3 mobile homes with major damage, 16 houses and 9 mobile homes with minor damage, and 3 houses and 1 mobile home affected. A large metal building that once housed a golf academy sustained severe damage, with the roof torn off and metal girders twisted. A camping trailer was blown into a field and destroyed. Several outbuildings were destroyed. Hundreds of trees were knocked down or snapped off. Numerous power lines were blown down. Considerable damage occurred at Lake Ouachita State Park. A portion of the tornado's track was determined during an aerial survey by the Arkansas Forestry Commission.

Wider weather episode

From the 24th through the 27th, the arrival of a slow-moving cold front and several low pressure areas aloft triggered several rounds of thunderstorms. Tornadoes, severe storms, and flash flooding resulted. Widespread areal flooding followed the flash flooding. Some of this flooding was due to heavy rain, while some of it was caused by water from rivers, creeks, and bayous backing up onto the land. On the evening of the 25th, devastating tornadoes affected several areas in central Arkansas. More than 140,000 electric customers in Arkansas lost power. Heavy rains during this period were the beginning of the Great Flood of 2011 in Arkansas. Much of the flooding lasted well into May, and some even continued all the way to late June.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.5066, -93.3020)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 289587. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.