Ports in a Storm (Lance Turner Editor’s Note)

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a press briefing carried live on THV 11 News on March 31.

I’m usually not what you’d call “weather aware.” I’ll glance at the day’s temperature on my phone while getting ready for work, but that’s about it. And even though I’m just a few feet from a meteorologist most mornings, I can never remember the forecast.

This irritates my wife to no end. She takes all weather — snow, ice, rain, storms, tornadoes — very seriously, and disproportionately bears the worry that goes with preparing for it.

That’s why, on March 31, while I was at the office in downtown Little Rock, she had smartly hunkered down with our daughter, our pets and all the things we’d need in a disaster in our lower-level laundry room at home, about 2 miles away from the path of an EF3 tornado that ripped across central Arkansas.

We were lucky. Our little corner of Sherwood was spared. The biggest inconvenience? Around six hours without electricity. Thousands of other homes and businesses were not so lucky, something we’re mindful of every day.

Even though the storm system killed five people in Arkansas and injured hundreds more, it could have been so much worse. And while we’re still counting the costs of March 31, it’s also good to tally up the things that went well during the storm and its immediate aftermath:

Early warning: Arkansas meteorologists warned us for days that the conditions were ripe for a bad storm. Skot Covert, a THV 11 News meteorologist, told the Rotary Club of Little Rock last week that the National Weather Service “nailed this,” and that helped everyone prepare for the unthinkable. Covert also said smart work by the NWS prompted it to issue an extended tornado warning, giving the public 50 minutes of warning — well beyond the average 13 minutes. “And I will always believe that 50 minutes saved a lot of lives,” he said.

Power restored quickly: As we reported on arkansasbusiness.com last week, collaboration among Arkansas’ electric cooperatives had restored all outages caused by the storm by noon Tuesday. By that same time, Entergy Arkansas Inc., the state’s largest utility, had cut its number of customers without power from a peak of 56,000 to about 5,500. It was a remarkable effort by the state’s electric utility workers.

Bipartisan cooperation: Another remarkable sight — Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., a Democrat, and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, shoulder to shoulder during joint press briefings, putting politics aside to get things done. In a time of crisis, we saw leaders governing collaboratively, competently and efficiently to help people. More of this, please.

Selflessness: Individual Arkansans, churches, nonprofits and businesses were quick to step up in the storms’ wake, volunteering for cleanup, setting up shelters, donating clothing and other goods, and providing free meals. We’ll need more of that spirit, too, in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Lance Turner is the editor of Arkansas Business.