Winter in May

An unusually strong cold front will move through the region, bringing some of the coldest air ever observed in May for parts of Arkansas. The cold front will move through Thursday bringing rain and much colder temperatures. The front will move into Eastern Arkansas on Friday, but rain will linger behind the front as moisture wraps around an upper level low pressure system to our Northwest. Temperatures will become cold enough that rain will likely mix with snow across parts of Northwest Arkansas.

Temperatures behind the front will dip well down into the 30s and 40s across Central Arkansas by Friday morning.

Gusty Northwest winds will make it feel even colder with wind chills down into the 20s. Heavy Jackets and even Winter coats will get at least one more use this season.

Snow accumulations are quite possible across Northwest Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Friday morning. Computer models vary in the location of the heaviest snow, but a couple of inches for parts of Northwest Arkansas is certainly possible. This would be an historic event since no observing station in Arkansas has ever recorded May snowfall since records began. Below is one computer model projection of possible snowfall.

Snowfall amounts, if any in Arkansas, are still uncertain since it depends highly on the track of the upper level low pressure system.

Cold air will remain in place through the weekend with record cold for Central Arkansas. The all time coldest temperature for May in Little Rock set in 1903 may be tied or even broken by Saturday morning.

Record cold temperatures are likely once again for Sunday morning in many spots. Fortunately, these temperatures should not be cold enough to cause significant damage to outdoor plants in Central Arkansas. High temperatures will remain about 20 degrees below average for this time of year.

Milder, more seasonable temperatures will slowly return by early next week as the upper low finally pulls away.