Strong Storms Cause Outages, Damage In Arkansas And Louisiana

Bleachers flung from the stands. Light poles snapped in half. Mangled scoreboards.

The damage was evident at the Jessieville High School football field in Arkansas after strong storms and a possible tornado slammed western Arkansas on Monday. Thousands are without power, according to CBS affiliate KTHV in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The storm appears to have occurred "out of the blue," according to superintendent Melissa G. Speers of the Jessieville School District.

"Things began to blow away," she said. "We didn't have any prior warning."

Inside the school, debris littered classrooms as more than 900 students took cover to protect themselves. 

The storm also slammed Union Parish in Louisiana, where homes were damaged and trees were ripped from their roots in the wake of a series of tornadoes that blew through the area last month.

The storm system is part of the same line of storms delivering record rain to northern California. Crews there are in rescue mode after the powerful system flooded streets.

Lupe Rodriguez was trapped in her flooded vehicle near Sacramento after she went to check on her parents.

"My tires were not that bad, (but) all of a sudden, there's a loop that got me down and that was it," she said. "I was done."

As residents continue to clean up, they're also bracing for the next storm. The system is now headed east through the Rockies, delivering heavy snow and prompting avalanche warnings.

Officials spent Monday ensuring that levees aren't breached again since more rain is expected by Saturday.

First published on January 3, 2023 / 10:16 AM

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