Most power outages were in Pulaski County, with 13,062 customers affected, followed by Drew County, with 3,624 outages, according to a report from the NBC-affiliated KARK-TV based in Little Rock…reports Asian Lite News
A storm battered parts of the US state of Arkansas with heavy rain and hail, causing damage to homes and businesses and leaving thousands of residents without power, local media reported.
Arkansas Storm Team Chief Meteorologist Carmen Rose said the storm on Wednesday appeared to be a microburst, composed of powerful downbursts from thunderstorms in tightly compacted areas that are usually less than 2.5 miles wide.
Experts said the high heat and humidity of Arkansas’s capital city, Little Rock, had fuelled the storm.
As of 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, around 18,000 customers were without power across the state, according to the power outage tracking site PowerOutage.us.
Most power outages were in Pulaski County, with 13,062 customers affected, followed by Drew County, with 3,624 outages, according to a report from the NBC-affiliated KARK-TV based in Little Rock.
Arkansas Storm Team Chief Meteorologist Carmen Rose said the storm appeared to be a microburst, which are powerful downbursts from thunderstorms in tightly compacted areas that are usually less than 2.5 miles wide.
The spike in temperature seen in Little Rock helped fuel these storms. The capital city hit a high of 102 and high humidity, bringing heat and moisture to add power to the microburst.
Neighborhoods were hit by the storm quickly Wednesday, and just as fast neighbors were out to help each other clean up the damage.
As of 9 p.m., PowerOutage.US reported that around 17,600 customers across Arkansas were still in the dark. The majority of power outages that have been reported were in Pulaski County with 12,899 customers affected, followed by Drew County with 3,451 outages.
There were 221 outages in Jefferson County. Farther south, Desha County has 613 outages.
Little Rock Police Department officials said there are multiple malfunctioning street lights in the area near Napa Valley Drive, Rainwood Drive and Green Mountain Drive as well as the area near Hinson Road and Rodney Parham Road. There will be heavy police presence in those areas as officers assist those in need.
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