Freak storm causes damage

 Winds destroyed the mobile home of Jay Hatfield on West Highway 102, blowing off the roof Sunday.

Winds destroyed the mobile home of Jay Hatfield on West Highway 102, blowing off the roof Sunday.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

— A pop-up thunderstorm that began as a summer shower on Sunday evening caught residents and emergency officials by surprise when it turned into a severe storm with winds that destroyed a mobile home, blew down a barn and left trees laying on homes, cars and roads.

Weather radar showed the storm began as a small shower west of town and exploded into a severe storm in less than half an hour. The Department of Emergency Management said straight line winds caused the damage, according to Fire Chief David Flynt.

Although Flynt usually sets off tornado sirens when straight line winds are predicted, the storm popped up so quickly there was no warning.

“There was no notice of this,” he said.

Firefighters responded to calls of wind damage around 5:20 p.m., according to Flynt. The winds blew the roof off of Jay Hatfield’s mobile home at 1182 West Highway 102 and knocked the structure completely off its foundation. On Monday morning, the twisted metal roof lay across the highway, a considerable distance from the home.

Hatfield narrowly missed being at home when the storm hit. A friend invited him to dinner about 30 minutes before the storm struck, he said. His cat was inside the home when the winds hit, but rode through the storm without any injuries.

“She’s pretty shook up, though,” he said.

The home wasn’t insured, Hatfield said. Insurance companies refused to insure it because it was too old, he explained. Other than a few clothes that might be salvaged, the home and contents were a total loss, according to Flynt.

Although the Benton County Department of Emergency Management said the damage was caused by straight-line winds, Hatfield said he believes a small tornado touched down on his home. He pointed out that the houses on either side of his trailer were untouched and the trees in his yard were snapped off and twisted. The interior walls, and even the kitchen cabinets, were pulled upward. Hatfield said the only thing that kept the home from blowing across the road with the roof was a large tree in the front yard.

The storm also broke out the back window of his car and another tree fell on his aunt’s car. Hatfield is staying with his mother for now, and is contacting the Red Cross to help him get back on his feet.

In addition to destroying Hatfield’s home, the storm also completely blew down a barn on Chicken Drive. It also caused a considerable amount of tree damage on Eubanks, Massey and Buffington Streets, as well as Falling Springs Road where firefighters cleared five or six trees from the roadway, Flynt said.

After the storm passed on Sunday evening, a group of neighbors was using a chain saw and hand saw to clear a tree from a car on Eubanks street. The group was working together up and down the street to clear trees from houses and cars, according to Donna Thompson, who had a tree fall on her bedroom and her pick-up truck.

Despite all the damage, the storm did bring about two and a half inches of much-needed rain to the area.