FORT SMITH, Ark. -
Thousands of homes lost power and dozens of trees have been knocked down across Fort Smith after a second round of severe weather this week.
Just after noon Friday, a wave of strong winds and hail swept through Fort Smith after hammering portions of northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma. Fallen trees around town and high winds took out power lines, causing more than 10,000 outages throughout the River Valley according to OG&E.
Shane Semiche, who lives near the corner of Waco and Jenny Lind, was watching as the storm rolled in and knocked over a tree in his neighbor's yard.
"I helped him cut another tree down, and he was thinking about taking that one out too," Semiche said, "and I guess that's been decided for him."
Further south, Dana Sharp and her neighbors worked to get a large branch of a Bradford pear tree off her roof without causing any damage. She had plans to go out of town over the weekend, but those are on hold until the tree branches are removed.
"Looks like maybe the bulk of it just brushed the roof line, so we feel pretty lucky," she said.
Several witnesses, including a Sebastian County Sheriff's deputy, said they also saw a possible funnel cloud near the Rye Hill area when the storm passed through. Around that same time, a large lumber shed at the National Home Center on Highway 71 South was blown off its base and onto nearby railroad tracks.
"I heard a loud thud, and told my secretary 'That didn't sound good'," said Paul McCollom, the general manager at National Home Center.
The steel and sheet metal shed had been anchored to a concrete base and was crumpled into a mass of scrap by the wind, causing $50,000 to $100,000 in damage.
"It's closed on one side, so the wind must have got under it just right and... just like a Tinkertoy, flipped it over," said McCollom.
McCollom says workers will be busy all weekend removing the mess, so trains passing through Fort Smith can use the tracks again on Monday.
Just after noon Friday, a wave of strong winds and hail swept through Fort Smith after hammering portions of northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma. Fallen trees around town and high winds took out power lines, causing more than 10,000 outages throughout the River Valley according to OG&E.
Shane Semiche, who lives near the corner of Waco and Jenny Lind, was watching as the storm rolled in and knocked over a tree in his neighbor's yard.
"I helped him cut another tree down, and he was thinking about taking that one out too," Semiche said, "and I guess that's been decided for him."
Further south, Dana Sharp and her neighbors worked to get a large branch of a Bradford pear tree off her roof without causing any damage. She had plans to go out of town over the weekend, but those are on hold until the tree branches are removed.
"Looks like maybe the bulk of it just brushed the roof line, so we feel pretty lucky," she said.
Several witnesses, including a Sebastian County Sheriff's deputy, said they also saw a possible funnel cloud near the Rye Hill area when the storm passed through. Around that same time, a large lumber shed at the National Home Center on Highway 71 South was blown off its base and onto nearby railroad tracks.
"I heard a loud thud, and told my secretary 'That didn't sound good'," said Paul McCollom, the general manager at National Home Center.
The steel and sheet metal shed had been anchored to a concrete base and was crumpled into a mass of scrap by the wind, causing $50,000 to $100,000 in damage.
"It's closed on one side, so the wind must have got under it just right and... just like a Tinkertoy, flipped it over," said McCollom.
McCollom says workers will be busy all weekend removing the mess, so trains passing through Fort Smith can use the tracks again on Monday.
