As Arkansas heats up, drought signs surface

John Helmich (left) wipes sweat from his eyes Thursday as he and Denver Bunt (right), both with H&H Excavating of Alexander, work to rebuild Lillian Street from East North Street to East Sevier Street in Benton.
John Helmich (left) wipes sweat from his eyes Thursday as he and Denver Bunt (right), both with H&H Excavating of Alexander, work to rebuild Lillian Street from East North Street to East Sevier Street in Benton.

Arkansas remains under a heat advisory through this evening as temperatures soared into the upper 90s across much of the state Thursday, giving people the first hint of what weathermen predict will be a warmer summer than first expected.

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North Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department summer employee Omar Gardner drinks water Thursday afternoon while working at Dark Hollow Memorial Park. The National Weather Service issued its first excessive-heat warning Thursday for central Arkansas.

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NWA Democrat-Gazette

Lindsey Strong (right), public relations director, visits Thursday with Gloria Jackson at the cooling center at the Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas Area Command in Fayetteville. Cooling stations open Fayetteville from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and in Bentonville when the heat index reaches 95 degrees or more. Box fans are also available for free from the Salvation Army at the Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Siloam Springs locations.

The National Weather Service issued its first heat advisory of the season for Thursday and today because heat indexes were expected to top 105 to 110 degrees. The heat index is a measure of how hot it feels when relative humidity is factored in with actual air temperature.

The heat index reached 113 degrees Thursday in Searcy, the highest mark in the state, said National Weather Service meteorologist Tabitha Clarke. Blytheville saw a heat index of 111 degrees, and Jonesboro and West Memphis recorded a heat index of 110 degrees.

"It's been a little oppressive," Clarke said of the steamy climate.

The heat wave stretches into the midwestern and southern United States. The weather service issued heat advisories for 11 other states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

The U.S. Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md., forecast temperatures to reach well above 100 degrees in California and Arizona by Sunday, The Associated Press reported. Phoenix could hit 114 to 119 by early next week

The weather service also issued an excessive-heat warning Thursday across central and eastern Arkansas, which means a prolonged period of dangerous heat was expected.

Mena recorded a heat index of 112 degrees Thursday afternoon, De Queen measured 110 degrees and North Little Rock had a heat index of 107 degrees.

Corning reported the highest air temperature in the state at 99 degrees.

The heat is the result of a ridge of high pressure stalled over Arkansas that blocks moisture from entering the state. However, Clarke said, unstable air has caused "pop-up showers," or quick, localized rainstorms.

"Most of the moisture is cut off from us now," Clarke said. "The strong ridge is preventing boundaries to bring in the moisture and wind flow."

The variables that caused Arkansas' heat -- the ridge of high pressure, a lack of Gulf moisture, a quiet tropical-storm season, the decline of the El Nino weather phenomenon and the humidity -- have some weather officials comparing this summer to that of 2012 when a drought hit the state abruptly.

"There is an eerie feel for 2012," said Mark Svoboda, a climatologist with the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The monitor is based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and issues weekly reports of drought conditions across the country.

Thursday's report, the latest available, showed only 4.9 percent of Arkansas considered "abnormally dry," a condition given to an area that is deficit of 1 to 2 inches of rain over a 30-day period. Seven counties in Northwest Arkansas -- Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton and Washington -- received that designation.

The 2012 drought began rapidly, just as Svoboda fears one could happen in Arkansas this year.

In early June 2012, only 2 percent of the state was considered to be in a drought. A week later, 27 percent of Arkansas was in some form of drought and by July 2012, 70 percent of the state was considered to be in an "exceptional drought," meaning the areas classified were deficit of 4 inches of rain over a 30-day period.

"Arkansas is right on the doorstep," Svoboda said. "Oklahoma and Texas will see drier conditions as well."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this week that the weather phenomenon known as El Nino is over. El Nino is a warming of the southern Pacific Ocean that results in the Arctic jet stream dipping farther to the south and producing cooler conditions.

The agency predicted higher temperatures than originally expected this summer for Arkansas and the South.

"We aren't seeing any enhanced chances of precipitation," Svoboda said. "We saw the same dry signal for 2012. There seems to be a big bull's-eye over the central United States for heat this year.

"A lot of the drought in the South is tied to what comes out of the Gulf," he said. "If we have an active tropical storm season, it can bring moisture to [Arkansas]. We have had a quiet tropical season lately. You don't wish hurricanes to come. Maybe just a tropical depression to get the dry out."

He said if the ridge of high pressure remains over Arkansas for the next few weeks, the state could face the quick development of a drought.

"You could go from nothing to a good drought in just two to three weeks," he said.

Higher temperatures are good for business at Watson Ice, a Jonesboro company that sells ice to restaurants, snow-cone stands and residents.

"It's been pretty crazy," said Jennifer Bracken, a Watson Ice employee. "It's started picking up quite a bit this week.

"We live for this, even though we complain about the heat," she said. "We like this time of year. It pays the bills."

Crowds increased at the splash pad Thursday at Tyndall Park in Benton, said Christy Fontinel, a Benton Parks and Recreation Department spokesman.

"The parking lot is full," she said Thursday morning. "It's already 93 degrees. People have been using the park today."

Temperatures will remain in the upper 90s through today and then the ridge will begin moving west, Clarke said. Highs of 91 degrees are forecast for Little Rock on Saturday and Sunday as a chance of showers and thunderstorms moves into the state early next week.

State Desk on 06/17/2016

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