F3 Tornado — Union, Arkansas

2005-01-12 · near Junction City, Union, Arkansas

Event narrative

The tornado that moved through Claiborne Parish Louisiana moved northeast into Union County Arkansas. The tornado first struck the community of Junction City, Arkansas just north of the Arkansas, Louisiana state line. From the area surveyed, the tornado was on the ground continuously from touchdown to end. For the early part of the track, the damage was confined to minor damage to homes with numerous trees downed from Junction City to near Tatum Rd approximately 8 miles south of El Dorado. In Junction City, two people were injured when a tree fell on their home as they were in bed. As the tornado approached Tatum Rd, it appears to have intensified significantly while growing wider in its destruction. It was through the area from Tatum Rd, across Hwy 7 and into the vicinity of Rushwood Rd that the storm did its greatest damage. Numerous homes, both mobile and well constructed frame homes were either destroyed or heavily damaged. A number of vehicles were rolled and tossed through the air, landing several yards from their initial location. It was in the area of Tatum Rd through Rushwood Rd that two fatalities occurred, both of them elderly residents. The majority of the injuries also occurred in this area. After leaving the Rushwood Rd area, the storm began to weaken and decreasing in path width. Except for minor structural damage to buildings in Lawson, trees downed or broken was the main damage for the latter part of the track.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0167, -92.7333)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5482100. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.