A powerful tornado touched down in northeastern Arkansas on Wednesday, prompting the issuance of an urgent tornado emergency as the supercell passed through communities such as Lake City and Blytheville.

The FOX Forecast Center described the storm as a "wedge tornado," a type of twister that is particularly dangerous and wide, which sent storm chasers scrambling to put enough distance between themselves and the violent cyclone. 

The tornado, with multiple vortices swirling around its base, was first spotted just east of Jonesboro and quickly moved toward the Arkansas-Missouri state line.

Accompanying the destructive tornado were bursts of light, likely caused by transformers exploding due to the intense winds, which were estimated to have reached nearly 200 mph.