A repetitive weather pattern -- plenty of rain and a stubborn air mass parked over Canada -- is keeping Arkansas temperatures lower than average this summer.
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The state has yet to see a 100-degree reading this summer -- Fort Smith reached 97 degrees and Texarkana hit 96 degrees Tuesday -- and if temperatures don't reach triple digits this weekend as a warming trend briefly hits the state, it may be a while.
Forecasters expect the mercury to dip into the low 80s and upper 70s for high temperatures Tuesday. In northern Arkansas, thermometer readings as low as 57 degrees are expected Tuesday night.
"We're below normal for summer temperatures," said National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Jankowski of Tulsa. "We've had a lot of rain, and that's conducive to keeping the soil from warming up because of all the moisture.
"It warms up, then it rains, then it rebounds and warms up, and then it rains again," she said.
The highest temperature so far for Fayetteville this year, which is in the Tulsa district's weather coverage, was 90 degrees, she said.
Little Rock's 93-degree mark on June 22 was the highest it's been this year before Saturday. The capital city's high on July Fourth -- a day normally associated with sweltering heat -- was 83 degrees, which was the lowest reading for the day since 1976.
It's the same type of system as the series of "polar vortexes" that produced the state's frigid weather in January.
A mass of high pressure stalled over the Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada is pushing the jet stream into the deep South and is responsible for Arkansas' cooler weather. A clockwise flow around the mass produces northwest winds that usher in the repeating cold fronts and rain systems that keep temperatures down.
As a result, summer temperatures in Western states are above normal, and drought conditions continue to worsen there.
In California, 36.5 percent of the state is considered to be in "exceptional drought," the worst ranking the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln issues.
An "exceptional drought" classification is given to an area that had a rain deficit of more than 9 inches over a 30-day period.
The southwest and northwest corners of Arkansas are considered to be in an "abnormal drought," meaning the areas are suffering a deficit of 1 to 2 inches of rain over a 30-day period.
"We would have thought it'd hit 100 degrees somewhere [in Arkansas] by now," said National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Smith, who compiles climate data in North Little Rock. "But we've had so many systems come through, and the rain has kept the grass greener. It's not been as hot."
July of last year also featured lower than average temperatures. Fayetteville recorded a low of 52 degrees on July 2, 2013, and Calico Rock's 53-degree mark on the same day broke a 63-year-old record in the Izard County town.
A year before that, the state baked in the July heat. Little Rock's 111 degrees on July 28, 2012, was the third highest temperature ever recorded in the city. Hot Springs and Russellville each recorded 109 degrees on July 20, 2012.
Since 2000, Little Rock has had an average of nearly 10 days of temperatures of 100 degrees or higher, National Weather Service records show. Fort Smith has the most, with an average of 12.4 days topping the triple-digit mark each year; El Dorado averages 10.6 days, and Jonesboro averages 10.2 days each summer.
Once the weather warms up, it tends to stay hot, too. In 1980, between July 5-19, the state recorded 15 consecutive days at 100 degrees or above, which is a record. In 2000, areas in the state experienced at least 100 degrees for 11 straight days.
So far, this year's balmy summer has been well received.
People are still flocking to the Arkadelphia Aquatic Park daily to cool off, said Laura Prince, an employee of the recreational water park.
"It's still hot," she said. "But it's not as hot. People stay longer. They're not as tired out by the heat this year. This is definitely the coolest I've seen for a summer."
Alyssa Holland, a manager at the Crenshaw Springs Water Park in White Hall, said about 350 people go each day to the park, which opened June 21.
"I like it just the way it is," she said of the cooler summer. "If it gets up to 100, they'll still come, but it will be more to cool off than to have fun."
The temperatures are a welcome relief to people who labor outside.
Construction continues at the Interstate 430-630 interchange in west Little Rock, and crews aren't as hindered by the normally steamy conditions, said state Highway and Transportation Department spokesman Danny Straessle.
"This season has been a good one," he said. "[Two years ago], workers began at 5 a.m. and wrapped up at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. because of the heat.
"This is good weather to work in," Straessle said. "Our crews are mowing rights of way, repairing guardrails and replacing pavement on I-30. Everybody is getting things done."
The Arkansas Forestry Commission said fire danger is low across the entire state because of the lower temperatures and more moist conditions. There are no burn bans issued for any county, said Adriane Barnes, spokesman for the commission.
"This is the first time there's been no burn bans for a long time. We're able to fulfill the other parts of our mission -- conservation and education," she said, adding that the commission will soon release a book about Arkansas' trees and it is celebrating the 70th anniversary of Smokey Bear, the Advertising Council mascot created in 1944 to raise awareness of wildfire danger.
"Everybody is using the downtime between fires to get equipment ready and to do other needed things," Barnes said.
Roofers also appreciate the milder summer, said Laura Perkins, office manager at Harness Roofing Inc., a commercial roofing company in Fort Smith.
"It's still hot, but it would be a lot worse if it was 15 degrees hotter," she said.
The rains that keep the temperatures down, however, have hampered her workers, she said.
"You can't put a roof on when it's raining."
Forecasters expect thunderstorms will roll into the state Monday evening, cooling this weekend's brief warming trend. The high temperature for Little Rock on Tuesday is expected to hit about 83 degrees.
"We are below average for July," Jankowski said of temperatures. "But enjoy it now. We still have a lot of summer left, and this may not last all summer long."
A Section on 07/13/2014