LITTLE ROCK — A heat advisory continues for much of Arkansas as temperatures surge into the upper-90s and triple digits.
Brian Smith, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Little Rock, said northern parts of the state will see temperatures today and Tuesday in the upper-90s while locations in the southern part of the state may reach 102. Heat indexes will range up to 110.
Smith said Little Rock will almost certainly record its first 100-degree day on Monday, the first day of summer.
The advisory officially continues through 7 p.m. Tuesday. After that, it will be a little cooler, Smith said.
"But I use that term loosely, because it's til going to be in the mid-to-upper 90s for highs," he said.
Little Rock typically doesn't record its first 100-degree day of the season until mid-July, but it has occurred as early as June 6.
"So this isn't the earliest it's been this hot by any stretch of the imagination," Smith said.
The recent heat did tie a record on Sunday, however. The low temperature that day - 79 degrees - equaled June 20, 1998 for highest low temperature in that calendar day.
The advisory covers 43 counties in central, southern and eastern Arkansas. A separate excessive heat warning has been issued through Wednesday night for Crawford, Sebastian and Franklin counties in northwest Arkansas.
Officials say people should stay out of the sun, drink plenty of fluids and check on friends and neighbors as the heat wave continues.