Thunderstorm Wind — Garland, Arkansas

2012-08-05 · near Hot Spgs, Garland, Arkansas

Event narrative

A microburst struck downtown Hot Springs, doing considerable damage. A hotel had a large hole, approximately 30 feet by 20 feet, punched in its facade. A bank had windows blown out. A skywalk between two buildings was badly damaged with a lot of material hanging out of the bottom (over the street) and windows blown out. A motorcyclist suffered minor injuries after he took shelter under the skywalk and was hit by flying debris. A used car dealership in a 65 year-old building had one wall caved in and numerous windows blown out. Most of the cars that were for sale were damaged. A nearby tire shop had all of its front windows blown out. A theater had damage to its marquee and a large ceramic planter was blown through a wall. The cornice of one building was blown off, scattering bricks across an adjacent parking lot. A radio tower was bent over the roof of the central fire station. Another radio tower, belonging to an ambulance service, was also bent over. At least two dozen businesses and residences suffered roof damage. A number of very large trees were blown down. One of these fell against a house and was so large that a mobile crane was brought in to remove it. Numerous power lines were blown down, leaving thousands of people without power.

Wider weather episode

A cold front moved into Arkansas on the 5th, sparking a number of severe thunderstorms. On the 6th and 7th, the front had weakened but remained in the state, setting off a few more severe storms.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.5054, -93.0526)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 389002. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.