Rain showers moving across the state Friday will lower temperatures over the weekend, forecasters said Friday.
Rainfall is expected to taper off later Friday, and “the heaviest band of rain will shift from the south of Arkansas,” meteorologist Julie Lesko of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock said. “Overnight and into the Fourth of July we could see another impulse of rain.”
No severe weather advisories are set, Lesko said, but heavy rainfall could increase chances of flash flooding.
“We may actually see a break from the rain in the late afternoon and evening, the only thing we would have to be worried about at the moment would be potential for some flash flooding,” she said.
Temperatures are expected to reach low- to mid-80s, which is mild for this time of year, Lesko said. “Cloud covered rain will keep temperatures pretty suppressed.”
Next week there’s a small chance of showers across north Arkansas, but as the rain moves out of the region temperatures will begin to rise, Lesko said.
Forecasters on Friday also issued flash flood warnings in Crittenden, Independence, Jackson and Lonoke counties after showers and thunderstorms that dropped up to 3 inches of rain over a two-hour period. A flash flood watch is in effect for much of eastern Arkansas.
Meteorologist Sean Clarke in North Little Rock said the chance for clear skies on Saturday has improved. He said there will be between a 40 percent and 60 percent chance of scattered showers in the morning and a 20 percent chance of rain across southern and central Arkansas in the evening.
Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.