Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rain, snow, bitter cold in area forecast
Road crews, utilities ready to respond when needed
The National Weather Service forecast for Northwest Arkansas called for rain to transition to snow Monday night and into this morning. The storm could drop about an inch of snow on Northwest Arkansas.
Pete Snyder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla., said the area will see much colder temperatures after the current system passes through, with low temperatures by Saturday dropping to around 10 degrees. Wind chill factors could be below zero, he said.
Another storm expected in the area could also bring a round of snow by Friday morning. As colder air wraps around the departing storm, some light snow could occur over parts of Northwest Arkansas, mainly around the Boston and Ozark highlands today, said Jeff Hood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock.
Those areas could see up to an inch of snow, the briefing said.
The first system is “primarily a rain maker, and there will be some rumbles of thunder in places,” the briefing said. One to 2 inches of rainfall are predicted across much of the state.
Strong wind gusts are the primary concern with that storm system, Hood said.
“This is a weeklong busy winter weather week,” said Hood.
Similar to the first storm system, the system near the end of the week could leave moisture lingering long enough to mingle with cool air, resulting in some snow.
“It’s more likely in the north and northwest, that’s where we’ve got possible accumulations, in those higher-terrain areas and parts of north, northwest Arkansas,” Hood said.
The forecaster said Little Rock’s chance at seeing
snow wouldn’t be likely until after the Arctic air mass moves into the area over the weekend.
Hood said Friday and into Saturday, the air mass would move cool air into the state and there could be cold temperatures for several days.
Melody Kwok, Benton County communications director, said the county is ready for any type of of wintry mix. She said the county is prepared to bring out large dump trucks to plow the roads if needed. Benton County also keeps stock of cold weather road treatment in the winter, though county officials said it is not possible to pretreat roads for snow and ice during rain.
Ashley Harris, vice president for marketing and communications at Ozarks Electric Cooperative, said the utility is constantly monitoring weather forecasts and has crews on alert for responding to snow.
“Our crews are on standby,” she said.
Jessica Sigala, Bentonville Electric dispatcher, said the electric company is prepared for whatever weather the area gets.
“The way the infrastructure is set up, we have duplicity,” she said.
With inclement weather in the forecast, Benton County Public Services Administrator Jay Frasier said the county is preparing to have all crews “out and about” this morning. The teams will be out early to start clearing roads, he said.
Similar to the first storm system, the system near the end of the week could leave moisture lingering long enough to mingle with cool air, resulting in some snow.
“It’s more likely in the north and northwest, that’s where we’ve got possible accumulations, in those higher-terrain areas and parts of north, northwest Arkansas,” Hood said.