Severe weather that moved through Garland County shortly before noon Tuesday led to reports of downed trees and flooded roadways, including a clogged drain on the King Expressway that snarled traffic and caused at least two wrecks.
Hot Springs and Garland County were placed under several severe thunderstorm warnings by the National Weather Service during the noon hours on Tuesday. The first, which included the southern portions of the county, along with parts of Grant, Dallas, Saline, Hot Spring and Montgomery counties, was issued at around 11 a.m., after severe thunderstorms packing 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail were indicated along a line extending from 6 miles southwest of Meyers to 8 miles southwest of Malvern, to 10 miles east of Caddo Valley.
At around 12:07 p.m., another severe thunderstorm was located 7 miles northeast of Jessieville, or 8 miles north of Hot Springs Village. That storm was also packing high winds and quarter-sized hail.
According to Hot Springs police Officer Cody Rollins, two separate wrecks occurred around the same time near the Werner Street on-ramp of the King Expressway in Hot Springs after a section of the roadway flooded at around 12:30 p.m.
In one wreck, a westbound black SUV reportedly hit a patch of standing water on the expressway and lost control, striking a guard rail. No major injuries were reported and no one was transported by LifeNet.
Officers could be seen cleaning debris from a clogged drain on the expressway.
There were several reports of downed trees in the county; one of the largest was on Gorge Road in Hot Springs National Park. The roadway was temporarily closed to allow a National Park Service crew time to cut up the tree and clear the debris.
