textproduct: Little Rock

KEY MESSAGES

Issued at 130 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

-Hazardous travel conditions to continue over the next several days, especially on secondary and country roads, as dense snow/sleet pack slowly erode

-Brief bout of very light mixed precipitation is possible Thursday evening/early Friday. Little to no accumulation is expected

-Another round of arctic air, including possible snow flurries Friday night, is expected over the weekend

-Warming trend anticipated early next week with PoPs increasing

DISCUSSION

Issued at 130 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

High clouds were increasing this morning as an upper level short wave moves across the Srn and Cntrl Plains within background NW flow. Will continue to monitor for the potential of patchy freezing fog across portions of the state through the predawn hours as temps hover mainly in the 20s. Black ice and/or refreezing of slush and snow will make the next several morning's commute treacherous, especially on secondary and country roads. The main thoroughfares have improved significantly due to daily snow/ice removal and treating of those roadways.

A brief lull in cold temps is expected today. Temps are anticipated to reach the 40s this afternoon across a good portion of the CWA with 50s possible over far S and SW AR. These temps will aid in a continuation of melting a dense snow/sleet pack. Based on 12z Thursday snow depth numbers, on average, 2-6" of snow/sleet remained across a large part of AR.

By this evening, the aforementioned short wave with an associated weakening surface low is forecast to track across the region into Friday morning. Short duration return flow today should limit available moisture as these features sweep across the state. At this time, there could be light mix of wintry weather over N-Cntrl/NE AR with perhaps a few rain showers light freezing rain over Cntrl AR. QPF amounts appear to be around 0.10 or less with this system. Limited snowfall accumulations around one half of an inch or less will be possible over N-Cntrl AR, otherwise little additional impacts are expected elsewhere.

Another surge of Arctic air will intrude the state heading into the weekend. Snow flurries will be possible Friday night across Ern half of AR as cold air squeezes out any available moisture beneath a passing positively tilted upper trough. By Saturday night, 1040- 1045mb surface high should be centered over the region. The coldest day should be Saturday with highs only topping out the low/mid 20s (Cntrl/N AR) to near 30 (S AR). Lows Friday night and Saturday night are expected to dip into the single digits (N AR) to lower/mid teens (Cntrl/Srn AR). Wind chills Friday night/Saturday morning could feel like 0 to 10 degrees below zero (Cntrl/Nrn AR) to single digits (Srn AR). If these wind chill values remain in this range, a cold weather advisory may be needed Friday night into Saturday morning.

A nice warm up is expected early-to-mid week as surface winds switch around the S/SW in response to departing Arctic high pressure. Upper level pattern will transition from NWrly to quasi-zonal. PoP chances will increase across the state, as liquid this time, through the end of the period. Temps are expected to climb into the 40s to near 50 degrees. Melting of remaining snow/sleet pack will continue.

AVIATION

(00Z TAFS) Issued at 529 PM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

Light winds and VFR conditions are expected to persist through the evening hours before a weak system brings clouds and some precip tonight. This will lead to cigs lowering to MVFR/IFR after 30/00z and continue through the end of the period, except for the northern terminals. Winds will become northerly by Friday morning with speeds around 10 kts.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Batesville AR 20 33 10 26 / 20 0 10 0 Camden AR 29 41 14 30 / 10 0 10 0 Harrison AR 17 31 6 24 / 10 10 10 0 Hot Springs AR 27 40 11 30 / 20 0 10 0 Little Rock AR 25 36 13 27 / 30 0 10 0 Monticello AR 29 39 15 28 / 10 0 0 0 Mount Ida AR 27 41 10 30 / 20 0 10 0 Mountain Home AR 17 31 7 25 / 10 10 10 0 Newport AR 21 31 12 25 / 20 0 10 0 Pine Bluff AR 26 36 14 28 / 20 0 10 0 Russellville AR 25 39 11 30 / 20 10 10 0 Searcy AR 21 34 10 26 / 20 0 10 0 Stuttgart AR 24 34 13 26 / 20 0 10 0

LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Cold Weather Advisory from midnight Friday night to noon CST Saturday 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.