Holiday weekend forecast: slightly cooler temperatures, chances for showers

In the best-case scenario, a high pressure system moving to the south will cool temperatures across Arkansas into the 80s as Independence Day arrives while a front from the Midwest misses the state.

But forecasters say there is also a worst case: the front could arrive in place of the high pressure system and bring scattered showers and thunderstorms for the holiday.

Either way, temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s Friday and Saturday are likely to cool into the high 80s to low 90s late Sunday and into Monday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Tabitha Clarke said that the pressure system, which usually lingers over Arkansas blocking western fronts during the summer, is expected to head south into Louisiana this weekend, bringing in cooler air.

Storms are most likely in the northern part of the state Friday into Saturday, but no widespread severe weather is expected in that time, Clarke said.

The chance for rain will rise to 30 percent Sunday, and then to 50 percent Monday, she said.

For those expecting to watch Pops on the River Monday night in Little Rock, which starts at 9:30 p.m. from the Main Street Bridge, Clarke said there's a good chance the rain will have moved to the east by then.

"I wouldn't say it's a total washout, it's not looking like a strong front," Clarke said.

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