Low pressure and a cold front produced rain in most of the state this weekend, with northern areas getting some snow, according to the National Weather Service.
The northern parts of the state saw “fairly significant amounts of rain” and later Sunday received 1 to 2 inches of snow, said Joe Goudsward, a senior forecaster for the service in North Little Rock.
Areas with higher elevations, like those near Harrison, were forecast to see up to 3 inches of snow by the end of the night, he said, adding that the precipitation was expected to taper off by 7 p.m.
“It was a heavy, wet snow,” Goudsward said. “It’s going to melt pretty quick.”
Central Arkansas received about an inch of rain, he said, but a trace of snow was possible Sunday night. Southern parts of the state didn’t see nearly as much precipitation, and the Monticello area picked up only a half-inch of rain, he said.
Temperatures dropped at least 20 degrees in central Arkansas as the cold front moved into Little Rock just after noon Sunday and spread south.
In the state’s northwest,, “a few light specks of snow” fell just before 6 p.m. Sunday in Fayetteville, said meteorologist Pete Snyder in Tulsa.
“Any snow occurring [then] is not making much of a difference,” he said. “If it’s on the ground, it didn’t stay there very long. Once it dropped, it’s just going to melt because temperatures are hovering around 32 to 33 degrees.”
Snyder said northern areas of Arkansas could see some black ice this morning because temperatures were set to fall to the 20s Sunday night, but most winter precipitation should stick mainly to grassy surfaces.
“It’s not going to last long,” he said. “It’s just a one-day deal and not so unusual for March.”
According to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, roads near Harrison and Mountain Home were slushy about 6:30 p.m.
Forecasters said high temperatures today are expected to reach into the 50s.
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 03/17/2014