State's hazardous weather outlook

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CDT THU MAR 21 2013

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500 AM CDT THU MAR 21 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT 

A STORM SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH THE WESTERN UNITED STATES WILL SPREAD ABUNDANT MOISTURE INTO THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. ACROSS NORTHERN ARKANSAS...IT WILL BE COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW...WHICH WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. AS SUCH...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHERN AND NORTHEAST ARKANSAS FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO UNTIL 1 AM TONIGHT.

THE NEW COMPUTER MODELS INDICATE THE ONSET OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE LATER IN THE DAY. THAT...AND THE FACT THAT GROUND TEMPERATURES ARE VERY WARM WILL KEEP SNOWFALL AMOUNTS A LITTLE LOWER THAN PREVIOUS THINKING.

STILL...A GENERAL SNOWFALL OF ONE TO THREE INCHES IS EXPECTED IN MOST OF THE ADVISORY AREA WHICH EXTENDS ROUGHLY NORTH OF A HARRISON TO MARSHALL TO BATESVILLE TO NEWPORT LINE. A FEW SPOTS FROM MOUNTAIN HOME TO SALEM SOUTHEAST TOWARD HARDY AND BATESVILLE COULD SEE FOUR INCHES...BUT THESE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE COMMON NOR WIDESPREAD.

EVENTUALLY...THE ATMOSPHERE WILL WARM ALOFT...WITH MELTING OCCURRING. AS THIS HAPPENS...SNOW WILL CHANGE TO RAIN ACROSS THE NORTH THURSDAY NIGHT. AS TEMPERATURES NEAR THE GROUND APPROACH FREEZING TOWARD THE MISSOURI BORDER...THERE COULD BE SOME PATCHY FREEZING RAIN TOWARD DAWN FRIDAY.

IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE STATE...THIS WILL BE MAINLY A RAIN EVENT...WITH PERHAPS A BRIEF PERIOD OF SLEET AS PRECIPITATION BEGINS.

HAZARDOUS TRAVEL WILL BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ON ELEVATED ROADWAYS SUCH AS BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. THIS WILL ALSO BE A HEAVY WET SNOW...AND THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW COULD RESULT IN DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THE PATTERN WILL REMAIN UNSETTLED FROM FRIDAY INTO EARLY SUNDAY AS THE SPRAWLING STORM SYSTEM LIFTS SLOWLY TOWARD AND EVENTUALLY THROUGH THE MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. PERIODS OF RAIN ARE IN THE FORECAST...WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AS WELL. THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER REMAINS LOW BUT SOME STORMS COULD PRODUCE HAIL ON SATURDAY MAINLY SOUTH OF LITTLE ROCK.

THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WILL CLEAR OUT ON SUNDAY BUT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY UNSEASONABLY COLDER AIR THAT WILL REMAIN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. HIGH TEMPERATURES DURING THIS TIME WILL AVERAGE AS MUCH AS 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.