Utility workers install power lines in a tornado damaged area, Saturday, May 3, 2008, Damascus, Ark. Smoke rose from burning heaps of wreckage Saturday as residents of rural Arkansas cleaned up what was left of their homes after deadly tornadoes scoured a state that has been plagued by severe weather this year.
(AP Photo/Mike Wintroath)
Weather service: Arkansas hit by 11 tornadoes last week
Utility workers install power lines in a tornado damaged area, Saturday, May 3, 2008, Damascus, Ark. Smoke rose from burning heaps of wreckage Saturday as residents of rural Arkansas cleaned up what was left of their homes after deadly tornadoes scoured a state that has been plagued by severe weather this year.
(AP Photo/Mike Wintroath)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Meteorologists have confirmed 11 tornadoes hit Arkansas late last week. One of them had winds between 136 and 165 mph and stayed on the ground for 45 miles.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock say the long-lasting tornado was classified an E-F3. It touched down near Birdtown in Conway County and continued through Van Buren and Cleburne counties.
The path was continuous for 45 miles even though it made several odd jogs that sometimes indicate different twisters.
Friday's tornadoes killed seven people, damaged or destroyed about 400 homes and knocked out electrical and telephone service in nearly 20 counties.
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