Tornado Warnings Hit Shreveport as Election Day Storms Sweep ArkLaTex
A line of strong storms moved across the ArkLaTex on Tuesday morning as voters headed to the polls. Several tornado warnings were issued, including one that covered Shreveport and Bossier City. As of midday, there were no reports of injuries or major damage, and the storms were moving east.
Tornado Warnings Stretch From Bradley to Bossier City
The National Weather Service office in Shreveport issued its first tornado warning of the morning at 10:55 a.m. It covered northwestern Bossier Parish and southern Lafayette County, Arkansas, after radar detected rotation near Plain Dealing.
At 11:34 a.m., the NWS issued a tornado warning that cited a public report of a tornado about 8 miles west of Stonewall, or 17 miles southwest of Shreveport. The storm was moving northeast at 30 mph. A follow-up warning described the rotation as radar-indicated. The NWS has not yet confirmed a tornado through a damage survey.
The same storm prompted another warning at 11:58 a.m. for Shreveport, Bossier City, Benton and Barksdale Air Force Base. The rotation was over Shreveport at the time, and the NWS warned that heavy rain could hide a tornado. That warning expired at 12:45 p.m.
Local utilities reported a few hundred scattered outages from gusty winds and lightning, according to KTBS. Around midday, PowerOutage.us showed fewer than 700 customers without power across all of Louisiana. Crashes were also reported on rain-slicked roads.
Why the Tornado Threat Stayed Low
The ArkLaTex was under a Level 1 of 5 Marginal Risk for severe storms on Tuesday. That means isolated severe storms were possible, but widespread severe weather was not expected. In a late-morning update, the Storm Prediction Center said a weak tornado threat could continue across northwest Louisiana, but it gave only a 20% chance that a tornado watch would be needed.
Earlier, a tornado watch covered eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, including the Texarkana area, until about 2:45 a.m. as the storms moved in overnight.
Rainfall was another concern. Some areas could pick up 1 to 2 inches, enough to cause ponding and high water in low-lying and poor-drainage spots.
Elsewhere, flash flooding in Florida forced at least 18 polling places in seven counties to move ahead of Election Day.
What’s Next
The storms are expected to clear the ArkLaTex from west to east this afternoon. Rain may linger near Natchitoches until around sunset. The line will move into the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys tonight and reach the Southeast on Wednesday.
Behind the cold front, skies will clear tonight, with lows in the 40s and low 50s. Sunny days and highs in the upper 60s to low 70s are expected for the rest of the week. For other parts of the country, see our Election Day forecast.
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