2 Arkansas tornadoes injure at least 5 people, damage nearly 2 dozen homes

Published January 13, 2015

Two apparent tornadoes touched down in Arkansas on Saturday, injuring at least five people and damaging about two dozen homes.

St. Francis County Sheriff's dispatcher Leslie White said a suspected tornado damaged three homes and injured three people late Saturday afternoon near Hughes, a town of roughly 1,400 residents about 35 miles southwest of Memphis, Tenn. She didn't know the severity of the injuries.

David Cox, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Jackson, Miss., said another apparent tornado struck near Dermott, Ark., which is in far southwest of the state. Two people were injured in that strike and about 20 homes were damaged, he said.

The Crittenden County Sheriff's office said vehicles were pushed off of Interstate 40 just west of West Memphis by what may have been powerful straight-line winds.

Traffic on the highway was backed up for several miles in both directions due to five or six traffic accidents, said Bill Sadler, an Arkansas State Patrol spokesman.

Forecasters warned of possible tornadoes on Saturday for an area stretching from southern Louisiana to southern Indiana.

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