The wind blew, the rains poured. Trees swayed against the power of the wind, struggling to stand, only to lose the battle, uprooted and flung across roads, blocking traffic and shutting down whole neighborhoods. Debris swirled in the air, carrying street signs over 50 miles away. Metal ripped from structures landed in trees not uprooted. It blew down power lines, knocking out electricity, sending homes and businesses into total darkness. The crashing sounds bought more darkness into the dark of the night skies, giving way to an eerie stillness that trickled into the morning hours, as if Mother Nature had died.
In the days of March 31 – April 1, 2023, the wind blew across our state with a powerful force. Alert sirens were blaring as the weather forecasters were warning of the impending danger and advising to take immediate cover. People hid in closets, retreated to bathrooms or any room with no windows. That’s where myself, my special needs son, and my three canine babies took refuge. Those with basements gathered loved ones and pets, if they could, and hurried to cover. If you were one who had storm shelters, or as my Mom’s generation called them, hidey holes, you huddled in those to ride out the storm. A short time later, we would immerse to destruction some of us had never seen. We were told we had just been hit with a high end EF3 with winds of 164 mph. An EF4 is 165 mph, thus the ones we were hit with being called a high end EF3..
Arkansas is part of what is known as Tornado Alley, so tornadoes are not uncommon, but for the areas hit they were. We were used to tornadoes, but they usually hit in the numerous rural communities that dotted the map around the major cities. This one started in the heart of Arkansas, traveling to the neighboring city and beyond. Structural destruction was devastating, but miraculous, loss of life was only 4 in the whole state! Our hearts went out to those families.
Arkansas really is a beautiful state, with some of the friendliest people you could meet. Little Rock is the capital of the state and sits in the center of downtown. Here is where our state capital was erected. It was designed to replicate the United States Capital building, and has been used in movies as a substitute for the real Capital Building.
The tornado started in the western part of central Arkansas. Videos showed the monster cloud as it was forming and beginning it’s destructive descent. Whole neighborhoods were left with anything from roofs torn from houses, to whole apartment complex laying flattened and in ruins. The monster didn’t stop there, but traveled over the interstate that separates Little Rock from the neighboring city of North Little Rock. These two cities are connected by a bridge that goes across the Arkansas River.
North Little Rock is home to one of the largest municipal parks in the country. It consists of 1700 acres. If you were to look up Burns Park, Wikipedia would tell you there are: 17 Soccer Fields; a Fishing lake; two 1 acre off-leash dog parks; 22 Tennis Courts; two 18 hole golf courses, two 18 hole disc golf courses; one 9 hole disc golf course; numerous playgrounds, including a playground equipped for special needs, picnic areas, pavilions; three outdoor basketball courts; Softball complex (5 fields); Youth Baseball complex (7 fields); RV Camping (52 sites); Archery Range; Amusement Park (called Funland); 15 miles of natural surface multi-use trails; 6 miles of paved multi-use trails; Covered Bridge; Union Pacific Caboose; World War II Tank; Old Log Cabin; Boat Launch to the Arkansas River. The local high school plays their baseball games there. National Soccer Tournaments are held there. It was a favorite hangout for many in my generation for sure. It’s a beautiful park.
The monster winds cut a path right through the heart of Burns Park. The devastating aftermath was heartbreaking. At least 10,000 trees were lost. Funland had just opened new rides one day before the tornado, now destroyed. Officials say the park is not going to ever look the same. Crews are still working to clear debris of mounds of metal, tree limbs and even mattresses that flew in with the high winds. As we drive over the interstate and look over at the park, it looks so desolate, like a deserted land. To those of us who spent our teenage years hanging out there, it is heartbreaking.
After racing through the park, the monster continue down its path, taking out businesses, a church, and a whole neighborhood. One person died. More homes were destroyed than not. Houses were flattened, some beyond repair. Trees lay across roads, making it hard for clean up crews to even access the area. It was mind boggling!
The destruction didn’t stop there. The monster wasn’t through with its destruction. It hit another neighborhood further north in the city. Big sections of that neighborhood lay in ruins, just like the others. But still, the winds blew, the tornado raged and traveled still further north to the next neighboring city, Sherwood. By the time the winds stopped, the city was dark, the businesses, house, street lights, all dark. It would be weeks before everyone got power back. Utility poles lay like toothpicks with wires strung out. Trees fell on top of power lines. It was a tedious process to restore power. Trucks were set up for people to dispose of freezers full of food that had spoiled with no power to run refrigerators.
The tornado still had another stop to make. It hit the next city, Jacksonville, home to the Air Force Base. I guess at this point, the monster was tired. It seemed to stop here, but there was another one heading to a town in eastern Arkansas.
When a tornado hit the city of Wynne, three people lost their lives. If it wasn’t for the intuition of the high school principal, the death toil could have been much higher. With the warning that a tornado was heading toward Wynne, the high school Principal made the decision to dismiss school early. All of the students were gone by the time the tornado ripped through their city. Wynne High School was a near-total loss.
The monster finally depleted itself of energy and fizzled out. An eerie silence took its place. People started immersing from wherever they had taken cover to take in the horror of the devastation. Neighbors with chain saws started cutting trees. The big trucks with the heavy wrenches starting rolling in to clear debris. Neighbor helping neighbor. It’s a southern thing. Volunteers starting flowing in, from preparing free meals for those who had lost so much, to starting a group to try to unite owners and the pets who found themselves lost. Group of volunteers came from other states to lend a hand.
There are still spots where houses still stand, waiting to be bulldozed. You still see roofs covered with blue tarps. You see empty lots where a house recently stood. You can still see an occasional uprooted tree, waiting to be chopped into smaller pieces.
Some areas will be recovering far in the future. Some will never recover what was lost. But, we will recover.
I DIDN’T GIVE UP! 