Paragould, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – March 18, 2025 – The tornado that hit Paragould early Saturday morning has been given an EF-2 rating.
The survey team from the National Weather Service in Memphis, TN said it found a damage path extending from a wooded area six miles southwest of Paragould near the intersection of Finch Road and Greene CR 736 to two miles east of Paragould. Damage supporting estimated peak wind speeds of 125 mph was found along a path up to 150 yards wide.
The path included homes along Pruett’s Chapel Road and inside the Enclave Subdivision, the same area hit by a Memorial Day weekend tornado on May 27, 2024.
“Memorial Day last year, we had about three or four homes that were majorly affected and some other damage in that area, Paragould Mayor Josh Agee said Monday morning. “We really dodged a bullet this time, the path was a little wider, longer, and there were more affected residents.”
Agee said there were only three minor injuries that he was aware of.
The mayor shared that last year’s tornado was an unwanted opportunity to prepare.
“No one wants to go through this, but if you could set something up for a perfect training exercise, we had that last year”
Agee said the response immediately following the tornado was swift.
“Our first responders quickly cleared about 500 homes,” he said. “We had outreach from Jonesboro and other agencies like the State Police.”
The tornado hit at 12:30 a.m. and by 2:30 a.m., the city had already released Jonesboro officers back to Jonesboro, Agee said.
“We had cleared 500 homes, not once, but twice. And then by 6 a.m. we went back and cleared them again during the daylight to make sure that we didn’t miss something.”
Trumann Mayor Jay Paul Woods reached out to Agee early Saturday morning.
“Jay is part of the Arkansas Baptist Disaster Team. They had four chainsaw teams on the way. By 8 o’clock they were in town helping residents.”
Agee said the amount of volunteerism has been incredible.
“We’ve got some of the best people in the world, and when our neighbors need us the most, we always step up. Paragould, Northeast Arkansas, did what it always does.”
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders visited Paragould with her crisis team late Saturday. Asked what the governor is going to do to help, Agee said the city will need help replacing tornado sirens.
“Seven of our 16 sirens were damaged. Those are about $50,000 each. She’s working on trying to allocate some funds to put those systems back in place.”
Agee passed compliments to the severe weather coverage provided by the Jonesboro Media Group radio stations and KAIT.
“The good lord was watching over our community, and I tell you, because of you guys and K8 and the safety systems that we have here in Paragould, those three things contributed to our citizens safety. Thank you so much for being there for our citizens when they needed you guys the most.”