Winter Begins Today

Friday, December 21, 2012

Winter, the driest season, doesn’t bring much promise to alleviate the ongoing drought that has parched the region this year.

Burn bans and red flag warnings may persist in the area, despite colder temperatures, officials said. The warnings are issued when there are dry conditions, low humidity or strong wind.

Fields and forests continue to be dry; one spark could ignite and consume large areas.

Dennis Ledbetter, Washington County fire marshal, said the county has experienced much lower humidity levels this year than normal.

“The conditions could be fine for a fire but in the next five minutes be really dangerous,” he said. “We encourage everyone to keep paying attention to the warnings and advise that if you don’t have to burn, then don’t burn.”

“As bad as the summer was, the winter could potentially be worse in terms of fire threats,” said Marc Trollinger, Benton County fire marshal. “In addition, all the debris from the 2009 ice storm is now seasoned, broken up and really in a prime state to burn easily. It’s more volatile than it was in the first year or two after the storm.”

Some hope for drought relief lies in the possibility of a wet winter because Northwest Arkansas is located on the

at A Glance

Sun And Seasons

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year north of the equator. It is when the Northern Hemisphere is the most inclined away from the sun. As winter progresses, the sun moves toward the Northern Hemisphere, and the days get longer.

Source: nasa.gov

outskirts of the Tennessee Valley, which has an increased likelihood of above normal precipitation. There is also a smaller demand for water in the ecosystem during the winter season.

“Even if there were to be improvement, it may not be long-lasting,” said Brian Fuchs of the National Drought Mitigation Center. “Areas recovering from drought are vulnerable, and any progress could be wiped away with a bit of harsh weather.”

Northwest Arkansas will probably experience another mild winter with anticipated warmer temperatures, according to the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla. Cold snaps and unpredicted storm systems are possibilities. Fayetteville is forecast to have low temperatures and a chance of rain and snow on Christmas and the day after.

It has been the warmest year on record in Northwest Arkansas through Nov. 30, according to the Weather Service. Records have been kept since 1949.

Not only could it be warmer this winter, but there may also be drastic temperature swings in the course of a day. With less moisture in the air because of the drought, the days could start very cold, become warm in the afternoon then fall back into low temperatures at night, according to meteorologists.

It was predicted an “El Nino” phenomenon would occur this fall and early winter, but it subsided in mid-fall.

El Nino would have given the area some drought relief and a higher level of predictability for long-term weather patterns in the winter.

The El Nino phenomenon is when the water near the equator in the Pacific Ocean becomes warmer than normal. The temperature of the water affects the jet stream over the continental U.S., providing more moisture and lower temperatures in the South.