Students, residents take shelter during tornado warning

March 20, 2024 at 4:00 a.m.

by Staff Reports

Submitted photo Luka Taylor, with his mom, made use of Gentry High School as a shelter from the storm during a tornado warning on Thursday in Gentry. He was the youngest of those taking shelter at the high school during the severe weather.
Submitted photo Luka Taylor, with his mom, made use of Gentry High School as a shelter from the storm during a tornado warning on Thursday in Gentry. He was the youngest of those taking shelter at the high school during the severe weather.

GENTRY -- Tornado sirens sounded Thursday afternoon in Gentry and the surrounding communities as a severe thunderstorm pushed through western Benton County.

The area was in a tornado watch, a severe thunderstorm warning, and then a tornado warning prompted by National Weather Service radar.

Though the storm slid to the north of Gentry, other communities in the Eagle Observer coverage area reported high winds, hail, and some damage. No local injuries were reported.

photo Submitted photo Students took shelter in an inner room at Gentry High School during a tornado warning Thursday afternoon.
photo Submitted photo Annabelle Eldridge of Maysville posted on Facebook this photo of the hail stones that fell in the Maysville area during the Thursday afternoon storm that passed through the area. The storm included hail and high winds. A tornado warning was also issued in northwestern Benton County.