Arkansas prepares for triple digit heat, high ozone load

Temperatures in parts of Arkansas are expected to reach triple digits by the end of this week, according to forecasters from the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

Colby Pope, a meteorologist with the weather service, said it is fairly likely that by Saturday Little Rock, Hot Springs and Pine Bluff could see temperatures at or over 100.

There is a possibility that the northern counties of the state could see some isolated rain on Thursday, but the next chance at cooling down a bit for the rest of Arkansas is Sunday going into Monday with a chance of isolated thunderstorms.

“It’s looking likely, it just won’t be a widespread event,” said Pope, “And it’s not going to last.”

This summer is starting off warmer than previous years and the trends show it to be dryer, according to Pope.

“In Little Rock, around this time in previous years, the high was 90 degrees,” said Pope, “So we are starting off already almost 10 degrees hotter than normal.”

Pope said the dry heat is less likely to cause heat related illnesses, but should still be monitored.

Cooling centers or shelters are starting to pop up around the state in order to combat the persistent heat.

A cooling center in North Little Rock opened Tuesday morning and will stay open until Sunday evening to allow residents to get relief from the heat.

It’s located at the North Little Rock Community Center at 2700 Willow St. and it will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

According to a news release, pets are allowed and there will be vending machines in the area.

North Little Rock police officer Jhailan Rathey, a liaison to the unsheltered community, said the cooling center will be open to the public with no identification required.

“Right now we can fit about 30 to 40 people,” Rathey said.

According to Rathey, masks and free water will be available to those in the center.

He said the reason North Little Rock decided to open a cooling center now was due to forecasted high temperatures near 100 degrees.

The East Little Rock Community Center at 2500 E. 6th St., will be open noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Pets are not allowed in the cooling center due to the community center policy, City of Little Rock spokesman Spencer Watson said Tuesday.

Beyond battling the temperature, Pope said Arkansans should be mindful about air quality.

Arkansas’ Department of Energy and Environment issued an air quality advisory “code orange” for ozone for central parts of the state in a news release Tuesday. High ozone concentrations could possibly irritate the eyes, nose, throats and lungs of individuals outside and puts those with respiratory illnesses at a higher risk of being affected.

According to Donnally Davis, a spokesperson for the agency, this is the second ozone advisory this year.

“The advisory is due to a combination of several meteorological factors that are conducive for high ozone concentrations, such as: hot temperatures, light winds, abundance of sunshine, low relative-humidity, and a high pressure system over Arkansas,” wrote Davis in an email on Tuesday.

Energy bills are also likely to rise as heat and air quality make going outside less viable options for Arkansans.

Brandi Hinkle, a spokesperson for Entergy, said the company offers levelized billing, deferred payment and other programs to help pay higher bills.

Hinkle said air conditioning and heating costs make up almost 50% to 55% of electricity costs on a monthly bill.

“Every degree warmer a customer leaves their air conditioning on in the summer is 3% off their bill,” she said Tuesday.

Entergy is not worried about blackouts, according to Hinkle, as she says the state makes most of its energy.

“We feel confident we will have enough energy to support Arkansas,” she said, “But we encourage customers to actively monitor their usage so they aren’t surprised by the bill.”

Benton Utilities, however, said in a news release it received a capacity advisory from the company that operates the bulk electric transmission grid that delivers power to the state.

Any time during extreme temperatures, the utility company may be asked to reduce the amount of electricity it is pulling from the grid.

“Benton Utilities relies on an out of town supply,” said Darren Prysock, the electric department manager from the company, “We would ask our customers to turn off their lights or increase the temperature of their air conditioning. We haven’t asked anyone yet, this message is just kind of a forewarning.”

Prysock said if customers are not complying, the company could have to plan outages. This excludes entities like hospitals and emergency buildings.