EF1 tornado in Ashley County, Arkansas

This tornado started just west of Highway 133 near Ashley 181 Road and traveled roughly eastward to just east of Highway 425 where it dissipated north of Hamburg. At the start, scattered trees were damaged. As the tornado approached Highway 133, intensity increased and more were snapped and uprooted. A few power lines were down as well. Along Highway 133, two areas of focused damage were noted. One area had a few dozen trees uprooted and one large tree was on a mobile home. The other area was at the Trinity Church, where some roof damage occurred to the main building and the covered walkway was blown away. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped along Ashley 497 Road and the Egypt Church building sustained damage. The large front covering was destroyed and the roof has some damage. Along Ashley 470 Road, heavy tree damage was noted along with several power lines down. Some homes had minor roof damage here as well as along Ashley 471 Road. Uprooted and snapped trees continued along the path. As the the tornado crossed Highway 189, a strong surge was noted on the north side of the path where a focused corridor of trees were damaged. Here a couple of trees were blown down on a mobile home. On the southern side of the path, at the intersection of Ashley 492 Road, several homes sustained roof damage with tin and insulation thrown. Trees were down here as well. The tornado continued across a wooded area where it crossed Ashley 491 Road, then Highway 425 before dissipating just east of Highway 425. There was one indirect injury which occurred during clean up after the tornado. Maximum peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.

A warm, moist airmass was in place across the region ahead of a potent January weather system. Ample wind energy also was present, which not only helped bring damaging winds with severe storms but also allowed for strong gradient winds to occur ahead of an eastward advancing squall line. Severe weather occurred in the early morning hours of January 11th and continued across the ArkLaMiss region before noon, resulting in widespread wind damage as well as some tornadoes.