| Many stories are already being told about the severe weather outbreak of February 5, 2008. Words are spreading from Atkins (Pope County) to Clinton (Van Buren County), Mountain View (Stone County) and Highland (Sharp County). These are areas that were affected by a long track tornado (rated EF4), with extensive damage noted.
Such damage is hard to comprehend, and is also rare. Less than two percent of all tornadoes are given such a rating or higher, with the vast majority of tornadoes rated EF0 or EF1 (weak). While EF4 (and EF5) tornadoes are few, they cause the most deaths. In this case, 13 Arkansans lost their lives (with another death near Gassville in Baxter County by a tornado rated EF2). Damage surveyors from the National Weather Service in Little Rock were awed by the destruction, and by what they heard from people directly affected by the storm.
Most of the stories were similar. Some people lost their vehicles; that is, the vehicles were thrown so far they have not been found. Others found vehicles they did not own...the vehicles came to rest on their property. Check receipts and bills were carried for miles, with paperwork from Atkins (Pope County) found in Clinton (Van Buren County) and farther upstream. Tin was found in areas where no buildings made of tin existed. And hundreds of livestock and thousands of chickens were killed.
There were bizarre stories as well. At Clinton (Van Buren County), two people were huddled around a commode in the bathroom before the storm arrived. After the storm departed, the bathroom was gone and so was the commode...but the people were still there (and only had minor injuries). Also at Clinton (Van Buren County), a lady had small pieces of newspaper buried in her leg...and the print could be read just under her skin.
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There were also stories of good fortune. The owner of a car dealership in Mountain View (Stone County) was at work when his wife called. She knew a storm was approaching and wanted him to come home. |
| In the picture: A car from the destroyed dealership in Mountain View (Stone County) was thrown over some professional buildings across the street and ended up in a ravine. Click to enlarge. |
| He usually stayed at the office later, but left at 6:00 pm CST. Seven minutes later, the dealership was destroyed. Thankfully, he got out of harm's way. |
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| In the picture: The location of the car dealership, the professional buildings and the thrown car in Mountain View (Stone County). |
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Around Zion (Izard County), five people left their mobile home to hide in an egg cooling house roughly 700 feet away. After the storm came and went, the mobile home was unrecognizable. Their hiding place was untouched. |
| In the picture: A home weather station recorded a 158 mph wind gust as the tornado passed through the Zion (Izard County) area. The picture is courtesy of Josh Lung. Click to enlarge. |
It appears many people knew the storm was coming by way of Tornado Warnings from the National Weather Service and through extensive broadcast coverage by local media. And many people did the right thing by going to the lowest floor in an interior room to protect themselves. The vast majority of these people made it through the storm. Some were very lucky. Even by doing the right thing, their homes were destroyed and somehow they survived. Some were not so lucky.
In the end, this will be a storm that will be remembered for a long time. There are so many stories already being told, and there will be so many more to come.
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