Severe weather possible Saturday in northern half of Arkansas, area under tornado watch

Courtesy of the National Weather Service
Courtesy of the National Weather Service

The northern half of Arkansas could see severe weather Saturday evening, forecasters said.

Erik Green, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said the greatest potential for severe weather lies in the northwestern part of the state, but it's possible its effects could spill into Central Arkansas.

Severe weather in the northern half of the state could include thunderstorms, damaging winds and hail, according to the weather service. Tornadoes cannot be ruled out, the weather service said.

According to an alert from the national weather service, several Arkansas counties are in a tornado watch until 12 a.m. Those counties are Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Fulton, Izard, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Sebastian, Stone, Van Buren and Washington counties.

A cold front is also moving through Northwest Arkansas, bringing temperatures to the high 30s and 40s, according to Green. Other parts of the state could see temperatures in the mid 40s to low 50s, he said.

Green said he expects the severe weather to begin between 6-8 p.m. Saturday. It should be followed by a calm Sunday, he said.

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