Winter’s Wrath Missed

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Mild winter weather has presented unusual benefits and unexpected challenges throughout Northwest Arkansas, some of which could stretch into spring and summer.

“The question is, are we going to pay for this nice weather later on?” said John Luther, director of emergency management for Washington County. “We’re keeping an eye on a number of things.”

The winter months have been warm, dry and windy, with temperatures holding almost 20 degrees higher than average throughout January and February. Warmer weather meant fewer house fires because of heating issues, but increased the risk of grass, brush and wildfires, said Dennis Ledbetter, Washington County fire marshal.

What little rain has fallen isn’t much help, because windy days have dried that moisture out of the land, he said.

“We’ve got to let nature catch up, to moisten things down, or the fire risk will just keep going up,” Ledbetter said. “Until there’s enough moisture to put leaves on the trees and green up the grass, any rain we do get just means possible lightning strikes and muddy ground for fire trucks to get stuck in.”

The region received less than a quarter-inch of rain during Tuesday night storms that produced heavy rain and tornadoes further north.

The National Forest Service is conducting controlled burns in certain areas, but local officials and the state Forestry Commission have the final say about burns on private land, said Tracy Farley, public information officer with the forest service.

“Fire is a very site specific tool, and conditions where we’re burning could be very different than those somewhere else in the forest or around the region,” Farley said. “There’s also a lot of fuel left out there in some places from the 2009 ice storm, and in those places, the danger is higher.”

Where fire officials see a lack of water, Alan Bland, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ranger, sees a surplus.

Despite lower than average accumulation of rain and snow — precipation has been about an inch below normal through January and February — Beaver Lake is at 1,120 feet, higher than normal for late winter.

The lake level normally drops throughout the winter as water is released through the dam generators, then fills with runoff during the spring rain season, said Bland.

“The dam is a peak-demand plant, and with the warm weather, there just hasn’t been as much demand, so we’re not moving as much water,” Bland said.

There’s still 10 vertical feet available to handle floodwater. However, plenty of water is available to deliver drinking water supplies even if the spring rain is sparse, Bland said.

“Even a heavy spring rain won’t bring the lake up that much, although if we get several heavy rains one after another, our fill rate increases,” Bland said. “Once enough rain has fallen to saturate the ground, more of it turns to runoff and ends up in the lake.”

The ideal rain would be soft and often, rather than a one-time deluge, Luther said.

“If we can get on-and-off rain, it keeps things wetted down without causing flooding problems,” Luther said. “In a flood situation, you not only have the dangers presented by floodwater, but also you watch a lot of water that could have been absorbed at a slow rate just wash away downstream, and that water is lost.”

Warm weather has reversed normal trends for Bob Roddy, operations manager at Ozark Mountain Propane in Pea Ridge. While his crew is pumping fewer gallons into the tanks of residential and business customers who haven’t needed as much heat, another side of the business has taken off earlier than usual.

“People are getting outside more, and it’s nice enough that they’re firing up their grills,” Roddy said. “We usually don’t see much sales activity on grill-size bottles until about the first of April, but we’re already moving a surprising number in January and February.”