The most violent storm

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Sentinel-Record today welcomes a new monthly feature to the editorial page. Retired local attorney Clay Farrar has agreed to write a monthly column about Hot Springs history for the hometown newspaper. Farrar has written many articles for the Garland County Historical Society's yearly publication, The Record.

The most powerful tornado ever known to have hit the Hot Springs area occurred on the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day in 1915.

In 1915, Thanksgiving Day fell on Nov. 25. The weather was unusually warm that day, with temperatures reaching the mid 70s. The first indication of trouble in Hot Springs was a violent hailstorm followed by torrential rain. Then, around 2:30 p.m., a large tornado first touched down on the Ouachita River close to what is now the location of the Wharf Restaurant on Lake Hamilton on Highway 7 south (Central Avenue).

The large tornado made its way northeast, next touching down close to Malvern Avenue at what is now the location of National Park Medical Center. In 1915, this was the location of the Reynolds dairy farm. The dairy was destroyed and the family patriarch, Lee Reynolds, suffered serious injuries when he was literally sucked out of his storm shelter and lifted into the air by the tornado, and miraculously dropped back to the ground over a mile from his home.

The tornado is now believed by weather scientists to have been an EF-5, the most violent category of tornadoes with winds in excess of 200 mph.

The tornado continued northeasterly into the Euclid Heights neighborhood located in east Hot Springs. Then the storm skipped over Gulpha Gorge and made its way into northeastern Garland County. One witness reported seeing three separate funnel clouds simultaneously coming toward his home. Another witness reported that, as the tornado approached his farm in the late afternoon, all sunlight was blocked out by the storm and it became totally dark.

Is it unusual for a tornado to occur as late as Thanksgiving? In Arkansas, the months of March, April, May are the months with the greatest incidence of tornadoes. But the late fall months of November and December also have a surprisingly high risk for tornadoes. The months with the lowest statistical risk for tornadoes are July and August. While peak season for tornadoes in Arkansas is in the spring or late fall, tornadoes have occurred in Arkansas in every month of the year. The time of day with the highest risk for tornadic activity is between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., but tornadoes can occur at any hour of the day or night.

Garland County has the good fortune of being located in an area of Arkansas that has a somewhat lower incidence of the most violent EF-3, EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes. This area of lower risk extends through west central Arkansas from Garland County into east central Oklahoma. Whether this lower incidence is due to the mountainous terrain of this area or other causes is a matter of scientific debate. Nevertheless, in the last 100 years Garland County has been hit by at least 100 smaller tornadoes.

Since the 1915 Thanksgiving Day tornado, Hot Springs has not had a devastating EF-5 tornado hit our community. However, surrounding communities including Arkadelphia and Mena have suffered severe damage from powerful tornadoes in recent years. As a matter of statistical probability, Hot Springs is certainly due for a severe tornado.

While the risk of a tornado hitting your home is a relatively rare occurrence, it's important to remember that Arkansas is in the top three or four states at risk for tornadoes. We Arkansans tend to become desensitized to the frequent tornado warnings that occur every spring and fall. However, we should not take these storm warnings for granted and every family should have an emergency plan of action. This includes having a safe location in which to seek shelter, preferably an underground shelter either in a basement or other underground storm shelter. If an underground shelter is not readily available, then a interior closet or even a bathtub can provide some limited protection.

If you would like to learn more about the 1915 Thanksgiving Day tornado, you might want to read the excellent article written by Robert Edward Reynolds published in the 2010 edition of The Record, the annual publication of the Garland County Historical Society. The Record is available to read in both in the reading room of the Garland County Historical Society and also at the Garland County Public Library.

To share questions or comments with Farrar, email him at clayfarrar@ gmail.com.

Editorial on 11/29/2017

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