Light snowfall in Northwest Arkansas melts quickly; frigid air forecast for state

Vince Sayarath, a senior at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, watches snowflakes Monday as he walks across campus. Parts of Northwest Arkansas received a mix of rain, snow and sleet. - Photo by David Gottschalk
Vince Sayarath, a senior at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, watches snowflakes Monday as he walks across campus. Parts of Northwest Arkansas received a mix of rain, snow and sleet. - Photo by David Gottschalk

Snow blanketed much of Northwest Arkansas on Monday morning but quickly melted.

"Soil temperatures were around 50 degrees when this started -- the 2-inch soil temperature," said Pete Snyder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa.

"It had to snow pretty hard for it to accumulate even on the grassy surfaces," Snyder said. "As soon as it stopped snowing, it slowly melted off the grassy surfaces. On the streets it was just sort of slush and that's when it was snowing its hardest."

On Monday morning, large snowflakes pelted students at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, as they walked to class.

By late afternoon, the snow was gone from the ground but still clinging to some roof shingles and gutters.

It was the last gasp of a snowstorm that dumped as much as 7 inches of snow in the Texas panhandle and 1.6 inches in Tulsa, which set a record for snowfall on any Nov. 12 in the city's record-keeping history. Tulsa is 85 miles west of Siloam Springs.

In Arkansas, Bella Vista got 1 inch of snow on Monday, Snyder said. Harrison got about one-half inch. Fayetteville reported 0.3 inches. Berryville and Huntsville each had 0.1 inch.

Sean Clarke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said the snowfall was pretty much over by the end of the day Monday.

He said some areas of the Ozark Mountains "could get a dusting more" over Monday night.

But frigid temperatures will be the story for the next couple of days, Clarke said.

Low temperatures were expected to be in the teens across north Arkansas this morning and Wednesday morning, he said.

The lows in south Arkansas are forecast to be in the 30s this morning and the 20s on Wednesday morning.

The forecast for today calls for sunny skies and a high of 32 degrees in Fayetteville, 38 degrees in Jonesboro and 39 degrees in Little Rock. Forecasters predict it will be partly cloudy in south Arkansas today with highs of 39 degrees in Pine Bluff and 43 degrees in El Dorado and Texarkana.

Another storm system will bring the possibility of snow to northeast Arkansas on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, Clark said. But the high temperature will be about 52 degrees in Jonesboro on Friday, which would quickly melt any accumulated snow.

Danny Straessle, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, said the department was ready for the snow but it hadn't been a problem on highways as of Monday afternoon. Rainfall before the snow made it impractical to put salt on highways ahead of time because it would have washed off.

"I'm not aware that we've dropped any salt anywhere," Straessle said. "We haven't had any problems that have popped up or any accidents. ... Everybody is going to continue to stand by tonight as the temperatures dip, with their salt trucks."

Straessle said the snow provided a good practice run for the department.

"A polar plunge with precipitation accounted for some really beautiful snowfall but didn't cause any problems with travel this time around," he said. "The most we can do is pay attention to what the National Weather Service has to say and, as they revise their forecast, we revise our plans. We went into the weekend ready. The trucks were loaded. We've got all the salt we need. ... Fortunately, they weren't required, but they are on standby in case they're needed tonight."

photo

Two women run for cover while crowding under an umbrella during a rain shower in downtown Little Rock on Monday morning.

Metro on 11/13/2018

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