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UPDATE (12:27 p.m.)
Winter weather arrived Monday morning in Northwest Arkansas, with reports of sleet mixed with rain scattered across the area.
The National Weather Service in Tulsa reported thunderstorms with a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow across east central Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas just before noon, with isolated pockets of heavy sleet. The precipitation is expected to continue throughout the afternoon. Accumulation of less than an inch is expected with the snow ending this evening.
Temperatures were hovering around 32 degrees and forecast to steadily drop to about 15 degrees early Tuesday. The wind was coming out of the north at 20 mph and gusts up to 25 mph at midday, according to the weather service. The forecast for Tuesday is sunny with a high near 34 degrees.
Benton County Road Department crews were pretreating bridges and overpasses at midday.
Channing Barker, the county's communications director, said trucks and crews were outh throughout the county. The trucks were spreading a salt brine mixture on roads that have been identified as potential trouble spots during wintry weather.
In Washington County, the Road Department is on alert, but waiting for the storm system to develop, according to Charles Ward, road superintendent.
Ward said Washington County doesn't pretreat roads, relying instead on spreading a gravel mix over ice or snow once it falls.
"Right now we're just waiting," Ward said. "With the product we use there's not we can do until something happens. Were ready. We're waiting."
Northwest Arkansas Community College will close at 3 p.m. today. All classes that start at 3 p.m. or later are cancelled, according to a press release form the College.
EARLIER:
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Northwest Arkansas.
A strong cold front entered northeast Oklahoma overnight and will sweep through the Northwest Arkansas area today, according to the weather service.
Gusty winds and a few thunderstorms could accompany the front as it moves through the area, but the main threat is winter weather and cold temperatures.
The rain is expected to transition to a wintry mix around noon today, according to the weather service. The wintry mix could transition to snow around 3 p.m. as the front continues to move across the area.
Warm ground conditions will limit any significant accumulations, but some elevated roads and bridges may become slick in spots. Higher terrain areas could see around a half inch of sleet and snow accumulation, according to the weather service.
The widespread cold is also a threat. Below freezing temperatures are forecast as far south as the central Texas coast. Temperatures are projected to get as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit in Fayetteville, with a wind chill of one degree. Temperatures are projected to remain cold throughout the week.
The winter weather advisory is in affect until 6 p.m.
NW News on 11/12/2019