5:09 P.M. UPDATE:
The National Weather Service bureau in North Little Rock wrote on Twitter Monday afternoon that Tuesday would hold another day of "very hot temperatures and high heat index values." A map from the bureau showed much of the state covered by excessive heat warnings and heat advisories. A cold front is projected to move into the state Tuesday night and Wednesday, forecasters said.
EARLIER:
An excessive heat warning will be in effect for large parts of Arkansas on Monday, with index values predicted to climb as high as 117 degrees, forecasters said.
Most of central, southern and eastern Arkansas will go under an excessive heat warning at 1 p.m., as heat index values are predicted to exceed 110 degrees in most of these areas, reaching up to 117 in Brinkley, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.
Other portions of the state, including Northwest Arkansas and Miller County, are under a heat advisory, the weather service said.
Forecasters said the high heat index values will cause it to feel like one of the hottest days of the year, though actual temperatures in Arkansas aren’t expected to top 100 degrees.
An excessive heat warning is also planned for Tuesday in southeast and central Arkansas, said Sean Clarke, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Other portions of the state will face a heat advisory, he said.
Little Rock has opened four cooling centers at the Dunbar, East Little Rock, Southwest and West Central community centers until 6 p.m. on Monday. The same cooling stations will reopen Tuesday at 9 a.m. and remain open until 6 p.m.
In North Little Rock, a heat relief station at the North Little Rock Community Center, 2700 Willow St., is open. The station is open on days when the heat index exceeds 104 degrees.
The weather service said heat is more deadly on average per year than lightning, tornadoes, floods or extreme cold.
“It will not take long to see heat related illnesses in these type of conditions so take it easy out there,” the weather service wrote on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.