Tornado in Arkansas, January 21, 1999

A strong tornado was spawned in southern White County just southwest of Beebe. The tornado moved through Beebe causing extensive damage to homes and businesses. Of all the tornadoes in this particular outbreak, the tornado at Beebe was the strongest. The tornado heavily damaged the new Beebe Junior High School off of Center Street and destroyed a gym behind the school. The Beebe Fire Department and a church also sustained damage. Two pickup trucks were found upside down on Hickory Street, with many old houses damaged or destroyed on Main Steet. Trees were downed throughout the area. Also, a girls high school basketball game was cancelled at halftime...and a boys game scheduled for later was called off with word of an approaching tornado. The tornado arrived a half hour later and heavily damaged the high school gym. Fortunately, the building was empty...everyone had gone home. In Beebe, the tornado killed two people...an elderly woman and an infant. The tornado tracked northeast out of Beebe toward McRae, with trees down and building debris noted along Highway 367 between Beebe and McRae. In McRae, widespread damage was found. The old fire station lost a wall and the new fire station across the railroad tracks (along Highway 367) was destroyed. Several mobile homes were overturned next to the new fire station and the post office was heavily damaged. A train signal was also destroyed. All natural gas in town was shut off due to leaks. The tornado finally dissipated about a mile northeast of McRae.