Parts of southern and southwestern Arkansas are forecast to see some rain on Wednesday afternoon, but it's not expected to improve the dry conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
Showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible after noon, Jim Reynolds, a meteorologist with the weather service in North Little Rock, said Wednesday morning.
“Mainly we are predicting to see a tenth of an inch of rain or less,” Reynolds said.
The southwestern corner of the state was still labeled as a high risk for fire danger as of Wednesday around 10:50 a.m., according to a map from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
This graphic from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture shows the level of wildfire danger each county in the state as of Wednesday morning. (Arkansas Department of Agriculture)Reynolds said the rain won’t improve conditions in the area.
“It’s really too little to help,” he said. “The moisture that would get into that top level of the ground will be evaporated by the sunny days forecast to follow it all this week.”
He said the state, especially the drier areas, need a good, soaking rain that would linger.
“Sadly, this rain is about the only game in town for days,” Reynolds said. “We don’t really have another chance at seeing heavy rainfall soon.”
The meteorologist said there is a low chance southern Arkansas might see some rain on Thursday and Friday afternoon, but it would still be less than a tenth of an inch of rainfall.
“A little bit of rainfall is not going to change our current conditions,” he said. “It might feel better outside but the lack of moisture means that fire danger will remain elevated.”
A LOOK AT LITTLE ROCK
Little Rock is not forecast to get any rain throughout the rest of the week, or through the weekend, according to an online forecast from the weather service.
Temperatures are expected to be slightly below normal but slowly follow a warming trend through the weekend.
Reynolds said that highs will be around the mid to upper 80s through Sunday.
“This week in Little Rock the temperatures will be slightly below normal to trending up towards normal,” he said.
The forecaster said the weather is becoming drier and cooler and is expected to follow that pattern for a while.
“Fall is just around the corner,” Reynolds said.