These photos were taken by two different people, at two different angles; however, they were both taken at College Place subdivision in Bentonville, AR. In the first photo you can see the mesocyclone, along with the wall cloud below it. The second shot was a close up view of the wall cloud.

No actual touchdown was reported in Benton county, however, there was a confirmed tornado spotted 1 mile north of Council Hill in Muskogee County.



This is a shot of the rotation near Centerton, AR. A different view from the ground up.

Hail was another issue with the storms that blew through Benton County. Here are some of the most impressive hail pictures. The first picture was hail that piled up to 7 inches near Bentonville, AR!

There have been many reports of hail up to the size of golf balls across Benton County and across much eastern OK. Trained storm spotters did report a tornado 1 mile north of Council Hill, in Muskogee County, OK.

The heaviest activity is now south of the River Valley area and moving to the ESE. We are monitoring all storms and will break in to programming as deemed necessary.

We've got a springtime clash of the air masses happening right now. For most of the day the atmosphere was "capped"; a layer of warm air sat aloft and inhibited rising motion and convection. This "cap" is breaking! A thin line of shower activity along with some Strong to severe thunderstorms are developing. Storm motion is to the ESE at some 15 to 20 mph.

Here is a look at the precipitation forecast for Monday night into Tuesday morning. This is very far out but right now there could be a possibility for some strong thunderstorms. Some of these storms could produce some heavy rain, exactly what we don't need. We will be watching this storm system very closely over the next several days, so keep it tuned to 4029tv and 4029tv.com for the very latest.

We want to invite all of you to watch our Storm Team Special this Thursday evening, at 6:30, only on 40/29. We'll look at future radar technology, severe weather safety, and a special behind the scenes look at a severe weather event.

Windy conditions dominated the weather headlines for Tuesday. The winds are also signalling the return of deeper moisture from the Gulf of Mexico; that moisture may materialize into thunderstorms for Thursday and Friday.




Look at the winds at 850 mb. These strong afternoon winds around 5,000 ft aloft helped to mix the atmosphere out, and produce the strong wind gusts at the surface. 850 mb winds also help to transport Gulf of Mexico moisture in the form of a low stratus deck. We're already seeing this stratus move north throughout Texas.



Here's the rule of thumb: you typically need winds over 35 knots out of the south to transport stratus across Oklahoma and Arkansas. We've seen that today, so expect stratus to move across our area late tonight and into Wednesday, creating a mostly cloudy sky.

Nearly 3,000 acres of the Ouachita National Forest in Scott county fell victim to a controlled burn on Monday. The smoke created a hazy atmosphere this evening causing visibility issues, and minor respiratory problems. Unfortunately, the atmospheric conditions overnight will promote the smoke to hang around, and that could cause some minor visibility issues.

Take a look at the graphic above. As the ground cools off rapidly after the sun goes down, a warm layer typically develops above the boundary layer, and that acts like a trap when it comes to smoke and pollutants. This trap is known as an inversion layer, and until the low levels of the atmosphere warm enough to erode the inversion, the smoke and haze will stick around.

Fortunately, we're expecting breezy conditions for Tuesday, which will create enough mixing to disperse the smoke filled air.

The information below is from http://www.tornadoproject.com/ CHECK IT OUT! The site is FILLED with all things "tornado". We're just now approaching peak season. Be safe, Be smart, Know what to do! Mark your calender too for this Thursday's Severe Weather Special on 40/29 TV at 6:30 PM.

The graph above shows the monthly distribution of "killer" tornadoes in the US from 1950-1994. Statistics show that the least likely month for a tornado dangerous enough to take lives is July, and the most likely is April. Note that this distribution is different than the monthly distribution for ALL tornadoes. On that graph, which is below, May is the month that has the most tornadoes. You might think that the month that has the MOST tornadoes would also be the month that has the most tornado deaths, but that is not so. There are a number of factors that affect this difference.

The tornadoes that occur earlier in the year are more intense and violent than those that occur later.

Since darkness falls earlier in March and April than it does in May or June, the tornadoes often strike after dark, and sometimes very late at night, when tornadoes are more difficult to spot visually, and are more likely to catch people unaware.

Tornadoes that occur earlier in the year tend to be in the southern states of the US. They are often rain wrapped. Since the weather in the southern states is more temperate, the homes are built to different specifications than those in states that experience colder weather. Many homes are set on blocks rather than on a slab foundation or over a basement. They may be built of unreinforced cement or cinder blocks. A high water table in some states precludes construction of a basement. Rural poverty is prevalent in some areas. These factors make the homes and their occupants in the Southern states more vulnerable.

A big warm up looks to be in the forecast next week. It's still a little early to be very confident with this prediction, but here is a look at the GFS model for Thursday afternoon. Notice all the warm air pushing in out of the south and southwest. I wouldn't be surprised if the River Valley will be in upper 70s and flirting with 80°...stay tuned!