After two days of single-digit temperatures, Arkansans are bracing for freezing rain and a chance of snow today and Thursday.
The state began warming Tuesday as the arctic air mass that delivered the frigid weather moved eastward out of Arkansas. Temperatures reached the upper 20s and 30s by Tuesday afternoon, but the National Weather Service in North Little Rock said with that warmth will come moisture.
Because temperatures aren't expected to reach above freezing today, the precipitation could fall as snow or freezing rain, said meteorologist Jeff Hood of North Little Rock.
"We're not too concerned about it," Hood said of any ice accumulations. "But it could cause some driving problems."
Forecasters have issued a winter weather advisory for southwest Arkansas that began at 3 a.m. today and extends until noon. The rain-producing system will cross the state throughout the day, Hood said.
Most of the state will see between one-hundredth of an inch to two-hundredths of an inch, Hood said.
"We won't have winds over 10 miles an hour," Hood said. "There may be a light coating of ice on trees and power lines, but it won't be enough to create any major problems."
The latest round of frozen precipitation is coming less than three weeks after the beginning of winter on Dec. 21 and a day after several Arkansas towns set records for low temperatures.
Little Rock's 9-degree reading Tuesday morning was the lowest January temperature recorded in the capital city since 1988, and the coldest for any month since February 1996, Hood said. It wasn't the coldest ever for Jan. 7, though. Little Rock's records show a reading of minus-2 degrees on Jan. 7, 1912.
Harrison reported minus-2 degrees Tuesday but it, too, was far from the coldest Jan. 7 there. Minus-12 degrees was the record set in 1912 in the Boone County town.
Other north Arkansas towns also registered negative temperatures Tuesday. Lead Hill in Boone County was the coldest town in the state, where the mercury dipped to minus-4 degrees. Mammoth Spring in Fulton County and Hardy, about 15 miles away in Sharp County, both saw minus-2 degrees. Mountain Home recorded a reading of minus-1 degree.
Plumbers for McNulty Plumbing in Highland in Sharp County were busy Tuesday repairing broken water pipes, employee Chris McNulty said. By midmorning, the business had received 18 calls from residences.
"I don't remember it being this cold, ever," she said. "We've been covered up today."
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery welcomed the sunshine Tuesday. A heating unit broke in his office Monday, and the temperature dropped to 46 degrees inside the building during the day.
"It was pretty brisk," he said.
Several cars slid off icy roads early Tuesday, but there were no injuries, he said.
Central Arkansas Water crews flushed lines in North Little Rock on Tuesday after hundreds of customers reported discolored water. John Tynan, a spokesman for the utility, said water froze Sunday evening in a major 30-inch transmission line. As the water thawed, chunks of ice flowed through the line and scoured minerals off the pipe's walls, he said.
Crews tested the water Tuesday, and Tynan said it was safe to drink. He advised customers not to wash clothing in it, however. The area affected is north of Interstate 40 and west of Arkansas 107 in the Crystal Hill area.
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative broke a usage record Monday and would have shattered that record again Tuesday had power not been disrupted to about 2,000 customers, said Mel Coleman, the utility's chief executive officer.
On Monday, customers used 187.3 megawatts at the usage peak, breaking the old record of 180 megawatts set in January 2010.
Coleman said customers likely would have used 200 megawatts or more Tuesday, but a tree fell on power lines in Baxter County at 3 a.m., knocking out electricity there. Power was restored to all customers by Tuesday morning, he said.
"There's a double-whammy with this," Coleman said. "After the cold, customers will get the 'sticker shock' of seeing their February bills. Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn't care about that."
In Northwest Arkansas, many school districts -- including Bentonville, Rogers, Fayetteville and Springdale -- were closed for a second day Tuesday. Dozens of schools also were closed in north-central Arkansas because secondary roads remained slick from Sunday's snow and ice there.
Schools in West Memphis were closed Tuesday after a water main broke in the Crittenden County town.
About 110 people spent Monday night in shelters provided by the Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas, said Maj. N.J. Pope.
"I've had enough," Pope said of the cold weather.
On Tuesday morning, a water line broke in the Siloam Springs Salvation Army thrift store, flooding the business, he said.
Extreme cold is rare in Arkansas and occurs only about once in 25-30 years, the National Weather Service's Hood said.
The weather has been affected by the Arctic Oscillation, a weather pattern involving variations in air pressure between the Arctic and northern-middle latitudes. The variations affect the jet stream, which sends colder air into the United States.
When the oscillation is positive, colder air remains near the Arctic Circle. When it's negative, the jet stream dips farther south, carrying with it the Arctic air. The oscillation dipped into negative readings Sunday, and temperatures quickly plummeted in Arkansas.
The latest round of wintry precipitation will change to rain by late Thursday as temperatures climb into the 40s, Hood said. Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 50s in southern Arkansas and the lower to mid-50s in the rest of the state by the weekend.
State Desk on 01/08/2014