State briefs

NWS confirms first Arkansas tornado of 2014

CHARLESTON -- The National Weather Service has confirmed Arkansas' first tornado of 2014.

Forecasters in Tulsa, Okla., say an EF1 tornado hit Sunday evening in a rural area of Franklin County in western Arkansas. The weather service says the twister touched down at 8:45 p.m. about 1 mile south-southeast of the community of Vesta before lifting and touching down again in the Peter Pender area.

The weather service says the tornado's path was 5.4 miles long with a maximum width of 450 yards.

No injuries or deaths were reported with the tornado, but the twister did damage several buildings. The weather service says the tornado damaged the roofs on several homes, destroyed numerous barns and outbuildings and uprooted trees.

State Desk on 04/16/2014

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