A supercell storm produced four tornadoes in eastern Adair and Delaware Counties on Memorial Day, the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla., confirmed Wednesday.
Tornado sirens sounded in Siloam Springs and Gentry and a wall cloud was clearly visible as the storm moved north along the Arkansas Oklahoma state line on Monday evening.
The National Weather Service sent a survey team to assess the damage earlier in the week and storm chaser footage also aids in the investigation, according to Joe Sellers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
An EF-1 tornado touched down from in Watts, Okla., at 7:11 p.m. and stayed on the ground for three minutes, uprooting trees and snapping large tree limbs, according to data the National Weather Service website. It was recorded by a tower camera in West Siloam Springs and by storm chasers, the website states.
Siloam Springs-based storm chaser James Hilger followed the storms from Fort Smith to just east of Grove, Okla., and captured photo and videos of the tornado near Watts.
A second EF-0 tornado touched down northeast of Colcord, Okla., for one minute at 7:34 p.m., snapping large tree limbs and was also observed by storm chasers. according to the National Weather Service. It was followed by an EF-1 tornado northeast of Colcord that touched down for two minutes at 7:46 p.m., uprooting trees, the website states. The second Colcord tornado occurred in a heavily wooded area that was mostly inaccessible by road, Sellers said.
The storm went on to produce an EF-0 tornado southeast of Grove, Okla., that stayed on the ground from 8:13 to 8:19 p.m. and snapped tree limbs as it crossed several county roads, the website states.
A fifth EF-0 tornado was confirmed near Lake Tenkiller in Sequoyah County, Okla., Monday and at least one additional tornado may have occurred south of Hartford, Ark., the website states.
General News on 05/31/2020