SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK - DAY ONE

OUTBREAK PUMMELS ARK., TEXAS IN DAY ONE

For those who thought today's severe weather action was really something, they might be surprised to find that this was only the warning shot for the real action to come Tuesday and especially Wednesday. The conditions are all coming together for this outbreak to explode Wednesday into a territory that covers the vast majority of the eastern half of the country.

Even still, Monday brought a dangerous situation, primarily to Arkansas and Texas. Not only did several tornadoes touch down, hail fall and winds blow, but supercell thunderstorms "trained" one over another over areas that have experienced heavy rainfall already in the past week. Flooding has become the long-term concern out of this storm system, as the Ohio and Mississippi valleys and their tributaries continue to rise over already-high water.

Here are a few of the bigger developments Monday:
-1,000 were forced to evacuate in Poplar Bluff, Mo. after a levee on the Black River was close to "catastrophic failure" due to flooding in the region.
-Multiple locations in Arkansas reported widespread damage from either straight-line winds or likely tornadoes...houses were damaged and two were injured in the town of Sunshine...an injury was reported after windows were blown out of a car on Interstate 40 in Pulaski County...The town of Vilonia was slammed and reports are out of a half-mile wide path of damage through the town from a confirmed tornado...a funnel cloud was reported in the area of North Little Rock...cars were blown off the road at Interstate 40 mile marker 104 in Conway County...at least four homes at Little Rock AFB were damaged with reported injuries.
-Over 54,000 without power in Arkansas reportedly.
-Numerous tornado reports also in Texas, and at least two reports of tornadoes in west Tennessee.

We'll be keeping a watch Tuesday it what promises to be a very active and dangerous day for many areas. Stay safe!

Info drawn from
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/severe-weather-tracker-april22-26_2011-04-22