Hot weather to stay for next several days

Heat index reaches 90 across state

Temperatures associated with mid-June in Arkansas are now replacing the unseasonably cool spring climate that much of the state has seen, and forecasters say warmer weather is ahead for the next several days.

      

The mercury reached 91 in Corning, Fort Smith, Newport and Searcy on Monday.

The heat index -- a measure of how hot it feels when relative humidity is factored in with the actual air temperature -- also topped 90 degrees across much of the state. Searcy reported the highest heat index, 100 degrees Monday afternoon.

The higher temperatures are the result of the breakdown of the upper level low pressure system that positioned itself over western Texas the past couple of weeks and brought daily thunderstorms to Arkansas, said National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Dalton of North Little Rock.

"That's moved to the east, and we're getting southerly winds into the state, along with Gulf moisture," Dalton said. "That's going to be steady at least until we go into the first half of the weekend."

Much of the state should see 90-degree or above readings this week, with little rain, he said. The warming trend is arriving in the area about three weeks later than usual, said National Weather Service meteorologist Zach Maye of Memphis.

Eastern Arkansas generally sees the first 90-degree day May 24, he said. This year, it didn't reach that mark in West Memphis until June 3.

"It looks like this will be hanging more into a summerlike pattern," Maye said of Monday's heat. "Two years ago, this came much earlier, and we were looking at drought conditions by late June. At least the rains helped with the drought this year."

The rising temperatures have helped business at Mid-South Heating and Air Conditioning in El Dorado, where workers have been besieged by service calls.

"We can't hang up the phone quick enough before the lines are ringing again," said Amber Gray, an employee at the service company. "We're booked for the next few days."

She said workers are adding Freon to air conditioning units, checking for condensation leaks and replacing new units. "We're just as busy as we can be," she said.

Employees were also busy at the Sno-White Dairy Bar in Des Arc on Monday, worker Jennifer Eldridge said.

"When the sun shines, people want milkshakes," she said. "We're also selling limeade, lemonade and ice cream. We're swamped."

The late warm spell has also brought along the appearance of more ticks -- although that's not exactly the case, said Kelly Loftin, an associate professor of entomology at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Because of the cooler spring, ticks remained dormant for longer than usual. Normally, the peak time for the pests is in late February, March and April, Loftin said.

"This time, they are more active at one time," he said.

Loftin expects a second wave of tick hatchings to occur in August as a result of the late hatching in the spring, and people will see more of them by early fall.

"The bottom line is to be sure to check for ticks when you go outside," he said. "That is important."

The Arkansas Department of Health reported that five people died of tickborne disease in the state in 2012, and four died in 2013. None have died so far this year.

Dalton said temperatures will remain in the lower 90s in the state until a slight chance of showers returns Sunday and Monday as the upper level of low pressure "retrogrades" back toward the west.

"When that happens, we'll get a northwestern flow across Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas," he said. "It could set up some thunderstorm complexes erupting over the Plains and coming into the state."

State Desk on 06/17/2014

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