UPDATE: Weather service confirms twister at DeGray Lake, Caney community -

PHOTO: Shingles were ripped from a home in the Caney community near DeGray Lake during a powerful storm early Tuesday, May 20, 2025. | Bismarck Fire Protection Association

This post was updated 5/21/25

An EF-1 tornado touched down at DeGray Lake early Tuesday morning, crossing Arkansas Highway 7 at the dike and damaging homes north of the lake, Little Rock news stations reported Wednesday. The following is our Tuesday report under the original headline:

Early morning storm slams Caney community, damages homes

At least five homes in southwestern Hot Spring County community sustained damages from a strong storm that swept through the area early Tuesday morning, May 20, 2025.

Emergency services were first notified of storm damages at 2:27 a.m. to a home on Sycamore Drive.

Whether the storm will be classified as a tornado or straight-line winds remains unclear. Officials are sending information to the National Weather Service for an official determination.

The winds uprooted trees and snapped trunks, and ripped siding and shingles from homes on Allen Road, Sycamore Drive, and Burris Loop, just northeast of the DeGray Lake dike on Arkansas Highway 7 at the Clark/Hot Spring county line. At least one home sustained major damage to its roof, leaving its trusses exposed.

**This photo, looking southeast toward Caddo Valley, shows fallen pine trees at the base of the DeGray Lake dike on Arkansas Highway 7.** | *Bismarck Fire Protection Association*

**A home in the Caney community near DeGray Lake sustained major damages from a storm Tuesday, May 20, 2025.** | *Bismarck Fire Protection Association*

Based on a preliminary survey, damage from the storm appeared to be spread at least 2 miles, from toppled pine trees at the base of the dike to east of Caney Baptist Church, said Randy Greathouse, director of Hot Spring County Department of Emergency Management. Greathouse said he’s submitting drone footage and aerial photos of storm damages to the NWS.

**The red area depicts an estimated swath of area where most storm damage had been reported.** | *Google Maps*

No injuries were reported in the storm.

By noon Tuesday, Entergy Arkansas was reporting nearly 200 customers without power, from as far south as Forestry Circle north to Heber Lane off of Arkansas Highway 128, and from as far west as Melbourn Drive east to Burris Loop. Residents of the Antioch community, farther north, were also without power, as were residential areas along Arkansas Highway 171 west of Rockport.