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EF1 STATUS CONFIRMED FOR MONTICELLO TWISTER

By Ray King and Wes Clement/
Thursday, May 7, 2009 10:33 PM CDT

OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday that damage during Wednesday’s storm in Monticello and Drew County was the work of an EF1 tornado.

The tornado covered 2.1 miles, and was embedded in a bow echo, or a backward C shaped line of storms often associated with strong to damaging winds, according to the weather service.

The tornado caused widespread damage, mostly to trees, the statement from Meteorologists John Robinson and Renee Fair said.

More rain

Even though the National Weather Service is predicting more rain for Pine Bluff and Jefferson County this weekend, Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Wally Hunt is not expecting significant flooding this time around.

“The problem we had was that we got a lot of water in such a short time that there was no place to go,” Hunt said about the flooding conditions reported after rain and thunderstorms moved through the area Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

“Looking at the forecast, we’re going to get more rain, but it’s going to be a lot less at one time that we had a couple of days ago,” he said. “What we’re expecting is more of a steady downfall over the weekend.”

Four inches

Up to 4 inches of rain is possible through Sunday night, the weather service said.

Although Hunt said he is not expecting problems, his office has stockpiled sandbags and will make them available to county residents on request.

“If somebody wants to be pro-active and try to head off a potential problem, they can call us,” he said.

As far as the Arkansas River at Pine Bluff is concerned, Hunt said the Island Harbor area shouldn’t have a problem with significant flooding.

With a flood stage of 42 feet, Hunt said the river is actually predicted to fall to under 38 feet by Tuesday.

“I’m not anticipating any impact unless something drastic happens,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yellow Bend Port at Arkansas City is expected to temporarily shut down grain shipment operations as water from the north moves down the Mississippi River.

Port Director Kenny Gober said Thursday if the river level rises any, shipment of grain will be suspended.

The river’s flood stage at Arkansas City is 37 feet and the level was reported to be 32.36 feet at 3 p.m. Thursday. According to the National Weather the Mississippi River is expected to rise to 37.25 feet by May 10.

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