Tuesday Snowfall Forecast

This one is going to be a rain maker for Central Arkansas, but Northwest Arkansas into Oklahoma and Missouri is going to get hammered by snow. Up to a foot of snow is likely around the Fayetteville area with even heavier amounts into Northeast Oklahoma where up to 20" is expected. Travel is not recommended tomorrow, especially along I-40 West of Ft. Smith which may have to be shut down for a period of time due to heavy snow and poor visibility. Across North Central Arkansas from North and West of Russellville to North of Clinton, rain will change to freezing rain and then over to snow. The freezing rain won't last long, keeping ice accumulations under a quarter of an inch, which isn't enough to bring down many trees and power lines. Snowfall amounts will be about 1 to 3 inches with heavier amounts North and West. Thunderstorms will be the main concern South of Little Rock, where some storms may briefly become severe along a strong cold front. The front will usher in much colder air Tuesday night into Wednesday. Most roads will have a chance to dry off before the temperature drops below freezing Tuesday night, so icy road conditions will only be very isolated in Central Arkansas going into Wednesday morning.

Overall, this storm system will be beneficial to Central Arkansas because we need the rain after a very dry January. Many areas received less than half the normal rainfall, leading to dry soil conditions and high grass fire danger.