Cold front, rain clouds relieve triple digit temperatures in Arkansas

hot day summer concept closeup thermometer with warm color tone - stock photo thermometer tile temperature tile summer heat hot / Getty Images
hot day summer concept closeup thermometer with warm color tone - stock photo thermometer tile temperature tile summer heat hot / Getty Images

A cold front began to move through Arkansas on Tuesday, bringing slightly cooler temperatures and rain for parts of the central, eastern and western portions of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

Brian Smith, a meteorologist with the weather service in North Little Rock, said the cold front hovered over the northern part of Arkansas on Tuesday afternoon and was slowly sinking to the south, which was predicted to bring temperatures down to the lower and mid-90s.

"It's better than the triple-digit temperatures we've been seeing," said Smith, "Tuesday temperatures are varying due to the cold front hanging out in the northern third of the state.

A severe thunderstorm warning, issued Tuesday night, covered parts of central Arkansas, including Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle, Paron, Ferndale and Cammack Village, according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts affected part of Pulaski, Lonoke and Faulkner counties.

As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Entergy Arkansas's website showed about 137 outages in the Little Rock area affecting about 8,100 customers, with smaller outages affecting a few hundred customers each in the Benton area and near Hot Springs.

The Little Rock National Weather Service said in a Tweet late Tuesday night that a weather observer at Marche in northwestern Pulaski County picked up 2.20 inches of rain, his highest rainfall total since May 22 and his highest rainfall total in the month of July since he began keeping records for the agency in 2010.

"Not only that, the end of this dry streak marks the third longest number of consecutive days with no measurable rainfall since records began here in 1975," the Weather Service said on Twitter, adding that it ties with the Aug. 12-Sept. 11, 1998, time period.

In Arkansas, the weather service predicts another heat advisory will be in place today for the southern portions of the state.

Any rain on Tuesday is unlikely to help the upcoming drought conditions because the areas predicted to see rain don't line up with those facing drought, according to the meteorologist.

Smith said that the weather service was carefully watching an increased chance of rain into the weekend and next week, but further details weren't available.

A map from the Arkansas Forestry Commission shows that all of the state is under a moderate wildfire risk, and that at least 49 counties had burn bans in place on Tuesday. Updated information is available at https://bit.ly/3PjZ9qY and https://bit.ly/3uMLZef.

Information for this article was contributed by Grant Lancaster of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.


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