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

(12Z TAFS) Issued at 536 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

Prevailing VFR conds should become MVFR CIGs by afternoon/evening with the approach of an upper level disturbance. Mentioned PROB30 groups beginning around 00z through 06z Fri featuring SHSN over Nrn sites, to SHRA over Cntrl sites. Cntrl locations could see a mix of precip types. Overall, precip will be light with little to no additional weather impacts expected. IFR CIGs are possible once precip ends and winds shift to the N/NE.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Batesville AR 40 22 33 10 / 10 30 0 10 Camden AR 52 30 39 14 / 0 10 0 10 Harrison AR 41 20 31 6 / 10 30 0 10 Hot Springs AR 48 28 38 12 / 0 20 0 10 Little Rock AR 43 26 35 13 / 10 30 0 10 Monticello AR 51 30 38 16 / 0 10 0 10 Mount Ida AR 49 28 40 11 / 10 20 0 10 Mountain Home AR 39 19 31 7 / 10 30 0 10 Newport AR 37 22 31 12 / 0 30 0 10 Pine Bluff AR 47 28 35 14 / 0 20 0 10 Russellville AR 45 25 38 11 / 10 30 0 10 Searcy AR 41 22 34 10 / 0 30 0 10 Stuttgart AR 43 26 34 14 / 0 20 0 10

LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.