Storm leaves its mark in Green Forest

No injuries were reported, but there was significant property damage from a possible tornado that struck the Green Forest area on the night of Friday, Nov. 3.

Joe Sellers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa, said a crew from the NWS was traveling to Arkansas on Monday, Nov. 7, to survey damage and hoped to make it to Green Forest before nightfall.

The NWS will make an official determination on whether the storm was a tornado.

“I don’t know if they’re going to have enough daylight by the time they get there,” Sellers said. “They started in Sebastian County and are working their way northward. So I don’t know if they’ll make it up to Carroll County today before they run out of daylight, but they’re certainly going to attempt to. So we don’t know just yet what what they’re going to find.”

Meteorologist Barrett Phillips, a Green Forest High School graduate who now works at television station KALB in Alexandria, La., shared a Facebook post offering his assessment of the storm. Phillips based his assessment in part on drone footage shot by Green Forest police chief John Bailey and shared on social media.

“Based off of the damage that I have seen (thanks to Green Forest Police Chief John Bailey’s drone footage) compiled with what I was able to gather on radar at the time of the event — This was a tornado,” Phillips’ post says.

“This tornado was tornado- warned as far back as Huntsville. Was it warned between Huntsville and Green Forest I do not know, but it was warned once it reached Green Forest. This tornado came up from the south-southwest just a bit west of what is traditionally known as Green Forest mountain.

“It was embedded on the north side of what is called a squall line. The fact this tornado formed on the north side or tip of the squall line is rare but it can happen. Tornadoes embedded in a squall line can form very quickly and dissipate very quickly.

“This one of course did not dissipate through Green Forest and it stayed on the ground from 103 south through the city limits. Long story short this was an EF-1 tornado. An EF-1 tornado has winds of 73 to 112 mph.”

Several barns and poultry houses were destroyed outside the city limits, especially along Highway 103, where the storm traveled on a northeasterly path. Inside the city limits, there were multiple reports of downed trees and power lines.

Crews from Carroll Electric Cooperative and Entergy were dispatched to restore electric service to customers in the area.

Carroll County Judge Ronda Griffin, who lives in Green Forest, said in a Facebook post that she “wouldn’t be surprised” if the storm is confirmed as a tornado.

“Several folks reported seeing rotation, and from looking at the widespread damage, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was,” says Griffin’s post, which is time-stamped 10:23 p.m. on the night of the storm. “Most of GF from Harps to Tyson’s, and North on 311, and South down to CR 903, is affected by downed trees and power lines. The town is black. We have some damage to turkey houses, and several homes had damage from trees. Thankfully, we do not have any reports of injuries! … I’m so proud of our local police, fire departments, and first responders!! They are all working together to keep everyone safe and helping to navigate the tree littered roads.”

Griffin said in a later post that a regional director from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management visited Green Forest on Saturday to survey the damage.

Signs were blown off billboards along Highway 62 and at least one campaign sign was lodged in a tree.

A large tree fell at a home on North Springfield Street, causing heavy damage to a parked car before coming to rest on the roof of the house.

Dan Rice, owner of Out On A Limb Tree Service, was working to remove the tree Saturday afternoon. Rice said some of the heaviest damage occurred on county roads 803 and 818.

After completing his work on North Springfield, Rice’s next stop was a home on Sixth Street where a very large tree had fallen on top of two vehicles. The cars were barely visible through a tangle of limbs, An HVAC unit reportedly caught fire at the Harps Food Store during the storm, but the store was open by Saturday afternoon. Merchandise that needed to be kept refrigerated was transferred to a pair of Tyson Foods trucks.