textproduct: Little Rock

KEY MESSAGES

Issued at 1230 AM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

- An Extreme Cold Warning with sub-zero wind chills lingering into Tuesday morning.

- Hazardous travel conditions are expected to continue through at least the beginning portions of this week, especially on less traveled roads, as multiple thaw and freeze cycles will unfold, resulting in slippery morning road conditions.

- Below normal temperatures continuing, with another round of very cold temperatures possible this weekend.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1230 AM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Much quieter weather conditions encompass the region, as most portions of Arkansas are under clear skies. Weak southwesterly flow has settled in, so this marks the onset of warming conditions as the Arctic airmass begins to lift north and east of Arkansas. However, very cold wind chills bottoming out in the -10 to -15 degree range overnight tonight prolongs the Extreme Cold Warning through Tuesday morning.

The overall mid-level pattern through the rest of the week will remain zonal for the most part, but a couple of shortwave troughs will bring a couple rounds of cloudy skies and maybe even some low-end wintry precipitation chances Thursday into Friday. A well defined 850 mb to surface Colorado low develops with this second shortwave, advecting just enough moisture into the region to bring those precipitation chances. However, some uncertainties on how strong this low becomes and how quickly it moves eastward would affect trends upwards or downwards for precipitation chances and amounts for the Thursday to Friday timeframe.

Behind this low will usher in the next round of Arctic air for this weekend. Very cold overnight temperatures in the single digits are anticipated as early as Friday night, with much below normal temperatures persisting through most of the weekend the weekend.

Once this Arctic airmass begins to slide east of the state going into next week, much warmer temperatures are anticipated as mid- level ridging build in from the west. The main uncertainty at this point will be how quickly the trough and the colder air in place will get dislodged, but definitely will be warming going into next week.

AVIATION

(12Z TAFS) Issued at 550 AM CST Tue Jan 27 2026

Some patchy MVFR to IFR ceilings across the southern terminals continue to linger into the morning hours. Those ceilings are anticipated to scatter later this morning, where SCT to OVC high clouds should move across the state later today. Some 40-45 kt LLWS expected to linger mainly across northern terminals before dissipating by mid-morning. Some gusty southwesterly flow favoring the northern terminals will dissipate later today, with mainly light and variable winds settling in later this afternoon. Some uncertainties regarding the potential for fog development tonight, as some areas may see high clouds scattering overnight, which could result in fog development. At this time, the highest probabilities of this occurring is across northern Arkansas, thus introduced some MVFR visibilities late in the period.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Batesville AR 36 16 36 20 / 0 0 0 0 Camden AR 41 19 45 22 / 0 0 0 0 Harrison AR 35 14 41 20 / 0 0 0 0 Hot Springs AR 39 18 41 22 / 0 0 0 0 Little Rock AR 36 18 36 22 / 0 0 0 0 Monticello AR 43 24 45 27 / 0 0 0 0 Mount Ida AR 42 17 45 22 / 0 0 0 0 Mountain Home AR 36 12 40 18 / 0 0 0 0 Newport AR 32 15 30 19 / 0 0 0 0 Pine Bluff AR 38 19 38 22 / 0 0 0 0 Russellville AR 34 17 38 22 / 0 0 0 0 Searcy AR 33 15 33 18 / 0 0 0 0 Stuttgart AR 33 17 32 21 / 0 0 0 0

LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Extreme Cold Warning until noon CST today for ARZ004>008-014>017- 024-025-031>034-039-042>047-052>057-062>069-103-112-113-121>123- 130-137-138-140-141-203-212-213-221>223-230-237-238-240-241-313- 340-341.