LITTLE ROCK — About 10,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity late Thursday morning after strong storms hit the state, uprooting trees, damaging buildings and downing electrical lines.
Entergy Arkansas reports power failures statewide with Yell County having the highest number, at nearly 1,500 just before Thursday.
Wednesday's storms brought powerful winds and torrential rains to many areas. Trees and power lines were downed, but no injuries have been reported. At its peak, Entergy had more than 40,000 customers without power.
University of Arkansas Cossatot Community College in DeQueen and its campuses in Ashdown and Nashville were closed Thursday because of storm damage. They were expected to reopen at 7:30 a.m. Friday.
The National Weather Service said areas in Northwest Arkansas saw 1 to 2 inches of rain, with some isolated areas receiving more than 3 inches of rain during the storm.
In Russellville, 1.8 inches of rain fell in a short period, causing flash flooding. The Little Rock area also reported nearly 1.5 inches of rain over a one-hour period Wednesday.
The weather service received dozens of reports of damage from a wide swath of the state, though none indicated any injuries. Among the reports were:
- Trees snapped and uprooted and roof damage near Central City in Sebastian County.
- Damage to multiple buildings at Fort Chaffee in Franklin County.
- A tree that fell on a car in Lamar in Johnson County.
- A tree that was blown down onto a police vehicle in Tuckerman in Jackson County.
- A tree that fell on a school bus in Pleasant Plains in Independence County.
Arkansas Online contributed to this report.