Roughly the northwest third of Arkansas is at a slight risk of severe weather on Wednesday, forecasters said.
According to the National Weather Service, the primary severe weather threat is damaging winds and large hail.
Much of Arkansas is also under a heat advisory on Wednesday for temperatures expected to feel hotter than 100 degrees.
All of the state except sections of northern and Northwest Arkansas are under the advisory until 8 p.m. Heat indices — which measure how hot the air feels when humidity is factored in — are expected to reach 105 degrees or higher through the advisory area, according to the National Weather Service.
Little Rock officials are inviting people needing to escape the heat to visit cooling stations at four of the city’s community centers:
- Dunbar Community Center, 1001 W. 16th St.
- East Little Rock Community Center, 2500 E. 6th St.
- Southwest Community Center, 6401 Baseline Road
- West Central Community Center, 4521 John Barrow Road
- Parks and Recreation staff will be available at the facilities from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, city officials said in a statement.
In North Little Rock, residents can visit a heat relief station at the North Little Rock Community Center at 2700 Willow St. That center will be open Wednesday, and on other days when the heat index is 105 degrees or higher.
The North Little Rock facility will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own food, drinks and entertainment.
Pockets of stormy weather are also predicted across Arkansas.
The weather service said “heat-of-the-day thunderstorms” are likely to pop up in some areas of the state with a chance for locally-heavy rainfall and the possibility of gusty winds.