Storms = Relief

An intense thunderstorm pounded the southern portion of Arkansas last night and it wasn't that hard to spot outside your window.  This amazing cumulonimbus was found several miles from our station.

The lone thunderstorm kept chugging along in Jefferson, Cleveland and parts of Dallas County late last night.  What made it stand out was its movement.  Unlike your typical thunderstorm that travels west to east or south to north...this single storm kept back building from east to west.  Besides the incredible lightning show, the storm manage to produce golf ball size hail at times.

TODAY: More storms are on tap and for some that will be a welcomed sight.  Currently a cluster of thunderstorms is occupying Fort Smith.  Majority of the models are suggesting that the storms will fizzle out soon and be gone by the lunch hour, but I don't get that feeling.  I expect these storms to continue to move northeast into Northern Arkansas and spill cool air over portions of the state.  Along with the threat of lightning and gusty winds, some of these storms north of Little Rock could produce large hail.

Not everybody will see a storm outside their backyard today but you will see a good amount of cirrus clouds mix with the sunshine.  With enough cloud cover and a cool outflow boundary near by, we will not be as hot today as we were yesterday (99 was our high on Wednesday).  Having said that, it will still be very warm outside with temperatures ranging from the upper 80's in Northern Arkansas to the upper 90's in Southern Arkansas.  Little Rock will likely end up in the mid to upper 90's.

WEEKEND:  We'll be frying under the sun on Father's Day weekend.  An area of high pressure in the mid-levels of the atmosphere will scoot over from Texas and expand into Arkansas.  This trend will lead to a sunny sky and temperatures to spike up to the upper 90's.

NEXT WEEK: A nice short wave aloft will help develop a surface low and cold front in the Central Plains by the middle of next week.  Models are still showing that this cold front will make it to Central Arkansas between Wednesday and Thursday.  Again, I want to caution you that this front doesn't look very impressive. It will give us a good chance at cloud cover and thunderstorms which should translate to relatively cooler temperatures in the 80's.

However, there are already signs that this cooler and wetter pattern won't last long.  Thanks to zonal flow aloft and more sunshine, we'll quickly warm back up to the 90's by the time we get into the first weekend of summer.