GRAVETTE -- What may have been the beginnings of a small tornado forming at the west edge of Gravette Thursday afternoon dissipated as it passed through a heavily wooded area on the north side of the city. But the freakish wind demolished a small outbuilding, scattered debris over a wide area, lifted two trampolines -- one into a field, the other into a tree -- and caused minor roof and trim damage to several residences.
The four o'clock afternoon storm was the climax to an unsettling day which began early when winds ripped through Gravette, uprooted trees, downed a power line, disrupted some phone service and caused rerouting traffic on Arkansas Highway 72 east of town. The strong, straight wind, estimated at 50-plus miles per hour, struck abruptly about 9 a.m. Thursday.
A large tree was uprooted near the car wash on Third Avenue SW with no appreciable damage other than to the tree. Limbs were stripped from trees near the post office and shingles were blown from several roofs in Westfield subdivision. The most damage occurred when the top of a huge oak tree fell on the home of John and Janice Deaton, who live on Main Street near Kindley Memorial Park. The massive limbs damaged the roof and punched a hole through the living room ceiling. The Deatons were not home at the time.
Ironically, seven hours later, at four o'clock, the home of Jack and Joyce Deaton (no relation to the other Deaton family) escaped with minor damage when the suspected mini-tornado demolished a tool/implement shed. The building was stripped from its foundation, small tools were scattered in a nearby field but the garden implements were still on the floor of the building. Some trim on the residence was damaged, but the nearby Assembly of God Church escaped damage, pastor Jack indicated.
The afternoon storm moved across Eighth Street NW where it picked up a trampoline and deposited it in a field near the city water tower. Some tree damage and minor structure damage was reported at nearby homes and apartment dwellings.
The wind cloud moved across the north edge of Gravette, where it picked up another trampoline at the Croxdale home on Eighth Avenue NE and scattered items in the area.
The morning straight wind downed a power pole east of Gravette near the Countryside Animal Care Center and blocked Highway 72 until Carroll Electric was able to remove the live wires. Power was restored about 2 p.m. and telephone service was finally restored to the animal clinic Friday morning.
West of town in the Beaty area, a farm building on the Dickie Harris farm was unroofed and sheet metal scattered in a nearby field.
Gravette police and emergency crews were at the scene directing traffic, and city employees were busy clearing city streets of brush and tree debris. No injuries were reported from the storms.
The storms were part of a large system that resulted in National Weather Service issuing Thunderstorm Watches. However, no "warnings" were issued, including those for tornadoes, and the freakish wind in the afternoon appeared to be an isolated occurrence. Hail, which had been mentioned as a possibility, did not occur in the area.
Less than a quarter inch of rain fell at the NOAA weather station in Gravette during the day-long storm period.
General News on 04/30/2014