A blast of Arctic air will clash with moisture over Arkansas on Sunday and some freezing rain, sleet and a light wintry mix is expected to fall along the northern edge of the state, National Weather Service meteorologists said.
As the cold front pushes through Arkansas, temperatures will drop to the low 20s by tonight. Forecasters call for freezing rain and sleet to begin falling early Sunday in Northwest Arkansas and crawl across the northern counties during the day, from Fayetteville to Jonesboro.
There is a slight chance of light freezing rain in areas farther south before temperatures climb above the freezing mark by noon Sunday, forecasters said.
"It may be icy for a couple of hours," said National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Brown of North Little Rock. "It doesn't take much freezing rain to cause problems on the roads."
Rain is likely in the southern half of the state Sunday and Monday. Temperatures are forecast to reach 41 degrees Sunday and 55 on Monday in Little Rock.
The wintry precipitation in Arkansas is on the edge of a strong storm system that is expected to drop more snow on the Ohio Valley, the Appalachians and farther east Sunday and Monday.
"Arkansas will see the glancing blow," said National Weather Service meteorologist Pete Snyder of Tulsa. "The temperatures in the northern part of the state will be cold enough to support some ice briefly, but it won't last long. The frozen air will be of little consequence."
Still, the mention of possible snowfall or ice accumulation got the attention of Hindsville Mayor X Dotson. Five years ago, on Feb. 9-10, 2011, a storm system dumped 24 inches of snow on the Madison County town of 75. It was an inch shy of the 24-hour snowfall total of 25 inches set in Corning on Jan. 22, 1918.
"It was pretty tough," Dotson said. "We'll be ready for this one if it gets bad. We have to be ahead."
In Harrison, where residents are used to frequent snows, shoppers began stocking up on the perfunctory milk, bread and eggs Friday, said Julie Ray, a spokesman for the Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce.
"It's not been bad so far this winter," she said. "Knock on wood."
She said Harrison seems to get more snow than other areas in the state.
"It's probably because we are the biggest town closest to Missouri," Ray said. "It snows there more, and we get their leftovers."
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department crews will be ready Sunday in case roads get slick, said Chad Davis, a maintenance engineer at the department's Fayetteville district office.
"Right now, we are monitoring weather reports," he said. "We've got our plows and spreaders ready if we need to come in.
"We're letting our people know there's a potential for weather," he said. "If it gets here, we'll be ready to roll."
State Desk on 02/13/2016