Much of Arkansas won't see temperatures above freezing until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest, according to the National Weather Service.
Sunshine that is expected as early as Tuesday afternoon in the Little Rock metro area could help the snow and ice on roads melt, Joe Goudsward, a meteorologist with the weather service office in North Little Rock, said.
More melting could happen Wednesday and Thursday, when highs in the lower 40s are forecasted.
But there is a chance the area could see some snow or sleet early Friday morning, Goudsward added. Friday's snow or sleet could turn into rain.
The below normal temperatures throughout the state are courtesy of an Arctic air mass that caused snow and sleet to fall in various places on Sunday evening into Monday. A second Arctic air mass is expected to move in on Friday.
However, "Any accumulation from that event will not be nearly as impactful as the one we're currently in," the forecaster said.
Goudsward said Arkansans should "be ready for cold, with that second Arctic air mass moving in, this cold is here to stay for a while and that's what we think the real story is."
This week, northern parts of the state saw the highest amounts of snow.
"Currently, the most snow we've seen is eight inches in St. Joe," Goudsward said Monday morning. "Much of northern Arkansas got anywhere between five to seven inches of snow."
The Little Rock Metro area, and much of Central Arkansas, saw two to three inches of snow total by Monday morning, he said.
Southern parts of Arkansas saw about an inch of snow, with sleet keeping the snow totals down, Goudsward said.
"They could still see some more snow today. Most of the wintry precipitation will stick around down there until around 3 or 4 p.m.," the forecaster said.
A winter weather briefing released Monday morning said an additional half-inch to an inch more of snow was possible for the southern half of the state.
Temperatures well below average are going to minimize chances for the snow to melt, Goudsward said.
"Any warming this afternoon is going to be minimal," he said. "The slightly higher temperatures this afternoon aren't going to promote any melting."
Goudsward said sunshine is the key to accelerating the melting process.
"Road surfaces, pavement, is black for a reason. It absorbs heat and radiation better than say a grass field covered in snow. That absorbed heat or radiation will accelerate the melting process," he said.
Grass and shaded areas near houses will likely remain covered in snow until temperatures warm up, but melting on roads may begin sooner, once the cloud cover is gone, he said.
WARMING CENTER REACHES CAPACITY
Several areas in Arkansas have opened warming centers to provide those in need a place to take shelter.
Officer Shana Cobbs, the unsheltered liaison for North Little Rock, said Monday morning that the warming center at the city's community center, located at 2700 Willow St., at one point overnight reached its capacity of 70 beds.
As of Monday morning, she said, there were about 10 to 15 beds available because some people left during the day, but the center has stayed busy.
"As soon as temperatures started dropping, we had an influx of unsheltered people rush in, at least 50 to 60 people every night," she said.
The center opened at 4 p.m. Friday, according to a post on X from the North Little Rock Police Department.
Once the center is full, Cobbs said they still try to help those in need.
"We start making calls to other warming centers around the area to see if they are full and if they have room. An officer will give that person a ride over to another center if needed," Cobbs said. "That's what these centers are for. They provide a place to come in and take shelter from this cold."
Cobbs said many private citizens, churches and other entities in the community have also helped.
"The community has really stepped up to make sure no one goes unfed, these people have had warm meals for every single lunch, breakfast and dinner," she said.
The warming center in North Little Rock is set to remain open until 7 a.m. on Wednesday, the post on X from the police department said.
TRAVEL IMPACTS
Dangerous driving conditions have caused a slew of accidents across the state.
One Searcy man is dead after a crash on Arkansas 13 in snowy conditions, a preliminary crash report from the Arkansas State Police said.
John Gerke, 59, of Searcy died on Sunday just after 2 p.m. when the 2021 Ford F250 he was driving north on Arkansas 13 in White County crossed the centerline, left the roadway and collided with a tree, the report said Monday afternoon.
A 47-year-old woman from Searcy was a passenger in the Ford and was taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries after the crash.
A trooper at the scene reported that the roads were snowy and it was snowing at the time of the crash.
According to Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesman Dave Parker, the sections of the state highway system that received the brunt of the winter weather were in Central Arkansas.
"From the River Valley up to Northwest counties is actually pretty decent," Parker said. "Major roads got at least one passable lane, in some cases two. Then you work your way to Central Arkansas, it certainly gets a little dicier. You still got snow-covered interstates and highways. It's not too bad I would say on the major roads, but then over in Eastern Arkansas, closer to Memphis, Interstate 40 it worsens. It's not horrible by any means."
Parker said he was only aware of about a half dozen reported accidents in the state due to weather conditions.
"We had two or three small incidents within a three, four-mile range, like mile marker 239 to 242 near Forrest City and backed things up for quite a while," Parker said. "A tractor trailer had jackknifed there. I think people heeded the warnings. Combined with the fact that we don't normally get a snow storm ... when it's 12 or five (degrees) people want to be indoors."
As for going into the rest of the week, Parker said ARDOT is concerned about black ice becoming a danger as snow begins melting.
"Even though it's going to be 10, 12, 15 degrees, we're gonna get a little bit of sunshine this afternoon and just a little bit of (heat) on that blacktop can ... allow us to plow, but certainly we're not going to get every inch of ice and snow out there," Parker said. "Some of it is going to refreeze tonight. It will be an issue (Tuesday) morning. We probably won't do a lot of plowing late tonight because we'll get down to where you know the road is relatively clear. But black ice is going to be concerning. Tonight we'll be spot checking patrolling bridges, interstates, the on and off ramps have been an issue all day. We put down sand and salt to kind of get a little bit of traction there. But the theme tonight is black ice. The theme tomorrow is black ice and urging people to take it slow."
According to an update issued by the Clinton National Airport in Little Rock at 11:10 a.m. Monday, the airport is open, and a maintenance team of nearly 40 has been clearing the main runway and taxiways.
That team began work Sunday afternoon, working 12-hour-shifts and extended overnight shifts, the airport said. They were able to use blowers and sweepers to clear the dry snow.
Lengthy delays and cancellations were mainly caused by weather issues elsewhere, the airport said. But passengers are encouraged to check their flight status on their airline's website before arriving at the airport, as a precaution.
WINTER WEATHER IMPACTS GROCERY STORES
Cindy Bowerman, a front end supervisor at the Kroger at 1900 N Polk St. in Little Rock, said Monday afternoon that it was open with a "skeleton crew."
She said only one self checkout was open, she was the only one working on the front end, and "I've been pretty steady down there."
Bowerman said, "I haven't heard any complaints. There's a guy walking by. He's just got him a jug of fat free milk I see. So I guess we're not too bad (on being stocked)."
She offered to come in on Monday if someone could pick her up, which was arranged, but she didn't know when her shift would end. Bowerman's best guess was, if the store closes early, it would close around 6 p.m.
The Kroger at 614 Beechwood St. in Little Rock was open Monday afternoon, but the person who answered the phone and identified themselves as a manager said they didn't know when it would close. They also said the store was operating with a "skeleton crew" and "stocking as we go."
Their produce and meat sections were about 60% stocked, while the dairy section was 40% stocked, they said.
OUTAGES
Entergy reported two significant outages late Monday afternoon. Roughly 73 customers east of Lonsdale were without power, with an estimated restoration time of 5 p.m. And roughly 100 customers in Alexander are expected to be without power until 5 p.m.
According to Entergy, all customer disconnections have been suspended through next Monday.
As of 4 p.m., the Arkansas Electric Cooperative outage map had reported 115 customers without power in Ouachita County and 26 customers without power in Carroll County.
CLOSURES, DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS
All Central Arkansas Library System locations will be closed on Tuesday due to weather and road conditions, the library system said in a news release on Monday.
The system has also postponed the wall breaking ceremony that was scheduled for Tuesday, the release said. The release did not list when the ceremony would be rescheduled.
The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock will be closed Tuesday.
All city offices and facilities in Sherwood are going to be closed on Tuesday, the city said in a news release on Monday.
North Little Rock will also close city offices on Tuesday due to freezing temperatures, the city said in a news release.
"Our Street Department has been working on the roads since the snow began yesterday afternoon and will continue working today and tomorrow," the release said. "We encourage our residents to stay home and not get out. If you must get out, please be careful and know that we have heavy equipment working around the city."
City offices in Hot Springs will be closed on Tuesday, the city said in a news release on Monday. The City of Hot Springs Board of Directors meeting scheduled for Tuesday has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 23 in the city hall board chambers, located at 133 Convention Blvd., a news release from the city said Monday.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announced the campus would be closed on Tuesday due to winter weather conditions, the university said on Facebook Monday afternoon.
The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana is also closed on Tuesday, the university said in a news release on Monday.
Arkansas Tech University also announced it would be closed on Tuesday, a news release said Monday.
"There will be no in-person or virtual classes or operations. Some essential operations, including food service, public safety and facilities maintenance, will remain available in order to serve residential students on the Russellville campus," the release said.
Arkansas State University-Mountain Home will close both its main campus and the technical center campus on Tuesday, due to road conditions.
Gentry School School District also will be closed on Tuesday due to inclement weather, Superintendent Terrie DePaola said Monday.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS K-12 SCHOOLS CLOSING
The Little Rock, Pulaski County Special, North Little Rock and Jacksonville/North Pulaski school districts are among the districts statewide that announced Monday morning that schools and administrative offices will be closed Tuesday because of the inclement weather.
All after-school activities, athletic events, and practices are canceled for Tuesday.
"Since schools are closed; there will be no virtual instruction," North Little Rock Superintendent Greg Pilewski posted Monday on social media.
"Students will not have to log in to Google Classroom for attendance or to complete assignments," Pilewski continued. "This day will have to be made up at the end of the school year as an Inclement Weather Day. We will communicate additional information to you as it relates to the official last day of school," he also wrote.
In the past, as the result of a 2017 state law, Arkansas school district employees and their students were able to do school work from their homes on days that campuses had to be closed because of bad weather, widespread illness or utility outages. Those days counted toward the 178 legally required student contact days and did not have to be made up later in the school year.
Provisions in the Arkansas LEARNS Act or Act 237 of 2023, however, appear to have changed the ability of districts to rely on those alternative method of instruction days. The new law requires a school district to provide 178 student contact days to qualify for the $50,000 minimum teacher salary that is provided in the same new law.
In response to a query from a state legislator, Attorney General Tim Griffin's office said late last year that school districts aren't legally barred from allowing teachers and students to work from their homes when districts are closed because of emergencies. But those work-at-home days "probably" can't be counted toward the minimum 178 school days a district must be open for on-campus instruction to qualify for state aid to meet the new $50,000 minimum teacher salary. The attorney general said clarification from the Legislature is needed.
Information for this story was contributed by Cynthia Howell of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A layer of snow lies across a stand of trees in Murray Park after a winter storm passed over the state Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/116snow/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Colin Murphey)
A group of young men remove snow and lay down salt in front of businesses on Main St. in downtown Little Rock after a winter storm passed over the state Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/116snow/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Colin Murphey)
A frieght train pulls into the Union Pacific Railroad - North Little Rock Terminal after a winter storm passed over the state Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/116snow/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Colin Murphey)
A layer of snow lies across downtown Little Rock after a winter storm passed over the state Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/116snow/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Colin Murphey)
Michael Chaney with Total Landscape Solutions removes snow from a parking lot on Riverfront Dr. in Little Rock after a winter storm passed over the state Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/116snow/ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Colin Murphey)