Destructive tornado strikes Little Rock, Arkansas causing widespread damage

A destructive tornado has swept through the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, flipping cars over and tearing roofs from buildings as the state was hit by violent storms.

The tornado made its way through the capital city earlier on Friday, with a string of other tornado warnings in place throughout the afternoon as the storm moved east at around 60mph.

No deaths have yet been reported from the tornado, which downed trees and left thousands without power, but Baptist Health Medical Center told CNN that it has received 21 patients, with five in critical condition.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has declared a state of emergency and stated on Twitter, “We will spare no resource to assist with response and recovery efforts for Arkansans impacted.”

Tens of millions of Americans remain under storm warnings and advisories, with the National Weather Service issuing a tornado watch for Friday afternoon for east Texas through the mid-South and Midwest.

Significant damage has been reported around the Little Rock metro area, including overturned trees in major roadways, which have caused crashes, according to local news outlet KARK. Traffic has been halted in both directions on Interstate 430 due to a crash.

A number of 18-wheeler trucks have reportedly been blown over by high winds, and members of the Little Rock National Weather Service were forced to take shelter while monitoring the storm, according to 4029TV.

Drone footage provided by WeatherNation showed the extent of the destruction on Friday. Homes in the path of the twister were reduced to rubble for blocks.

Another video, captured by a resident, captured the massive funnel cloud speeding across the Little Rock metro area.

Other residents shared photos of toppled trees that blocked roadways and crushed the roofs of houses.

Nearly 54,000 customers lost power on Friday afternoon in Pulaski County, where Little Rock is located. It’s unclear how long it will take to restore power.

The tornado is part of a larger storm system covering 15 states in the midwest and the US south. Meteorologists have likened the conditions to those that unleashed powerful tornados last week that killed 21 people in Mississippi, according to the Associated Press.

More than 85 million people were under severe weather warnings earlier on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Ping-pong ball sized hail was reported in Arkansas, Iowa, and Missouri.

The storms are expected to be the most severe along a stretch of the Mississippi River from Wisconsin down to Mississippi. High-risk, severe weather advisories have been issued in the Memphis, Davenport, and Quiny areas.

The Chicago area is also under a rare significantly severe weather risk, with meteorologists predicting thunderstorms, hail, high winds, and tornados, according to CBS 4. Blizzard conditions caused by high winds and heavy snow are forecasted for the Dakotas as far east as Michigan, according to USA Today.