Weather Causes Damage, Closes Dewey Short Visitors Center

While record heat continues to impact the Ozarks, some areas also dealt with pop-up strong to severe thunderstorms on Sunday. 

The National Weather Service received several storm reports including from the Branson Fire Department, which reported a 63 MPH Wind Gust at Station Number Four. 

Nearby, damage from the storm has forced the Dewey Short Visitor Center and the Table Rock Project Office to close today. According to a release from the Little Rock District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, several trees are down, and there is damage to the boat dock, the project office, and the visitor center. The Corps says they hope to have the facilities open again on Tuesday. 
In northern Arkansas, northeastern parts of Carroll County were under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for a time with reported wind gusts of 60 MPH, but no damage reports have been filed to the NWS. 

The weather also caused delays at events including the PBR Thunder Days at the Thunder Ridge Nature Arena where lightning delayed events for a time. 

The rain did impact on the temperatures and has reduced the extreme heat alerts. Forecasters now have Extreme Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories for areas west of Highway 65, still including Table Rock Lake but not currently either Bull Shoals Lake or Lake Taneycomo. Temperatures throughout the region are still hot though Heat Index readings will be down to around 100 today.