On March 31, 2023, 5 tornadoes touched down in Arkansas. Two of those were rated EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. One of those EF-3 tornadoes tore through central Arkansas, including parts of Little Rock.
Three years ago, a high-end EF-3 tornado began near Martindale, Arkansas, and lifted southeast of Cabot, Arkansas. Beginning in western Pulaski County and lifting in Lonoke County, the tornado was on the ground for just over 34 miles.
The tornado had peak wind speeds of 165 miles per hour. That’s as high on the EF-scale as the EF-3 classification goes, meaning if the estimated peak wind speed was even 1 mile per hour higher, it would be an EF-4 classification.
The Little Rock tornado caused 54 injuries and 1 indirect fatality.
It began at 2:18 p.m. on Friday, March 31, 2023, was on the ground for 40 minutes, and lifted at 2:58 p.m.
The other EF-3 that day in Arkansas began in western Cross County at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31, 2023. It was on the ground for 73 miles from that point, lifting at 5:54 p.m. in Tipton County, Tennessee.
This tornado had a peak estimated wind speed of 150 miles per hour. It caused 26 injuries and 4 fatalities…