The storm that swept through the area south and east of Atkins, Arkansas, was initially rated as an EF3 tornado. After surveying the damage, the National Weather Service has upgraded it to EF4 and stated that a single tornado may have tracked from south of Atkins through Clinton, Mountain View and Highland. An aerial survey is planned for today to determine if it was one or several tornados.
An EF4 has winds of between 166-200 mph, with devastating damage that can level newer houses and create “missiles” such as thrown cars or telephone poles.
Unfortunately, in the aftermath of the storm, cleanup efforts have been hampered by traffic of gawkers driving through to see the damage first hand. If they don’t have a need to go through the area, they should stay away.
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That is some wind speed Mike. Did you take that pic? It looks so eerie.
No. Thankfully it never came any closer than 15 miles of us. This is a frame from a video that was posted on youtube.com. I saw one photo of the tornado that a friend took. It was passing to the south and east of him, but it was huge. I don't want to be anywhere close to something like that. If one comes our way, I'll be in our storm shelter, not out taking pictures.
Goodness! I'm so glad that didn't get any closer to you. Still, it must have been a fright to know it was that close and I'm sure the weather wasn't cheery during that. Yikes!
How devastating Mike. I pray for all families caught in this.