Flood watch, winter weather advisory issued for parts of Arkansas as storm system approaches

Heavy rainfall is forecast across Arkansas this week, bringing the potential for flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.
Heavy rainfall is forecast across Arkansas this week, bringing the potential for flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

5 P.M. UPDATE:

Freezing rain and ice are predicted in much of Northwest Arkansas starting Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said.

Benton, Carroll, Washington and Madison counties are under a winter weather advisory in effect from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, the agency's Tulsa office said.

Isolated thunderstorms are expected in areas with temperatures near or slightly below freezing, resulting in freezing rain and icing, the advisory states. Total ice accumulations of a light glaze up to a tenth of 1 inch are expected, meaning slippery conditions on sidewalks, roads and bridges.

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for the latest weather information.

— Rachel Herzog

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National Weather Service in Tulsa

The National Weather Service's winter weather advisory.

3 P.M. UPDATE:

A flood watch now encompasses all but two of Arkansas' counties ahead of a system that is expected to bring several inches of rain, the National Weather Service said.

Only Ashley and Chicot counties are excluded, according to the agency's North Little Rock office.

Flood warnings were already issued Tuesday for the Ouachita, Little Missouri, Saline, Fourche La Fave and Cache rivers.

Heavy rainfall, accompanied by a sharp drop in temperatures, began entering Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday afternoon.

Meteorologists say temperatures could fall near freezing in that region Tuesday night and into early Wednesday, resulting in possible brief freezing rain.

Tuesday's highs were set to reach the upper 60s and low 70s in the state’s north. In southern Arkansas, forecasters said high temperatures would be in the upper 70s and low 80s.

Around 2:45 p.m., rain showers, heavy at times, were passing through cities like Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Rogers.

Precipitation was set to enter central Arkansas late Tuesday and into early Wednesday, meteorologists said.

On Wednesday, highs are forecast to be in the 40s and 50s across much of the state.

— Brandon Riddle

EARLIER STORY:

A wide swath of Arkansas faces a marginal risk for severe weather Tuesday ahead of expected heavy rain and potential flooding statewide through the weekend.

The state’s western, central and northern regions are included in the threat area, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

In those regions, meteorologists say, the main concerns will be damaging winds and the possibility of a few tornadoes.

The heaviest rain Tuesday is expected to start at night in the northwest half of the state. Heavy showers will eventually push through central and southern Arkansas on Wednesday and into early Thursday, the weather service said.

North Little Rock meteorologist Joe Goudsward said periods of rain, heavy at times, will follow through Saturday as the system pushes out of the state Thursday and moves back north.

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Graphics by The National Weather Service

“The latest data is now showing the possibility of strong thunderstorms on Saturday,” Goudsward said, adding there will be “more on that later.”

Most of Arkansas — except for portions of the state’s south and southeast — is under a flood watch through the latter part of the week.

By Saturday, up to 6 inches of rain is forecast in several rounds of precipitation across much of the state. Arkansas’ northwest and southeast will likely see up to 4 inches.

Some areas could see even higher amounts, particularly along and west of the Interstate 30/U.S. 67 corridor, according to the latest advisory.

Flash and river flooding are of concern, though river rise is less of a concern in the more drought-stricken areas, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall would be “much more problematic” in recently saturated southeast Arkansas, the agency added.

— Brandon Riddle

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