Overnight on Thursday, parts of the eastern half of Arkansas could see rainfall amounts of up to 4 inches, meteorologists said on Twitter.
Light rain had already started in parts of the state on Thursday morning, said Chris Buonanno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.
“Parts of Little Rock might have already seen a light shower, and parts of southern Arkansas are seeing some rain already this morning,” he said.
The rain in the morning and afternoon is expected to be light, but rainfall will ramp up into the evening hours of Thursday, the meteorologist said.
Buonanno said most places in the eastern half of Arkansas could see anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 inches.
“With time, intensity and coverage is expected to increase,” he said, “In Little Rock, after dark is when heavier rain should really start to affect the Metro area.”
The forecaster said flooding is a concern.
“We are always concerned with excessive rainfall that there could be some flooding,” he said. “And, since most of the rain is expected overnight, there is an added danger of flooding at night when visibility is already impacted.”
The rain is expected to be out of the state by sunrise on Saturday, Buonanno said.
The National Weather Service said on Twitter Thursday that forecasters were still monitoring the chance for severe weather on Monday.
“It is still a little too far out to tell for sure,” Buoanno said. “But we will be watching for a stronger storm system with heavy rain potential.”
He encouraged Arkansans to keep an eye out for any warning information NWS sends out on Monday.
“I think the concern with Monday is that this event could be so much stronger, and we do our best to deliver information. But, with it being near a holiday weekend, people’s attention might be elsewhere,” Buonanno said.