The Cold Moves Out…. November 30, 2010

Today was more reminiscent of December with highs in the 30′s and 40′s.  Even some snow flurries fell this morning under the clouds.  The unseasonably cold air rushed in last night in association with a deep trough moving across the central part of the United Sates.

The trough will lift this over the next couple of days signaling some warmer temperatures going toward the weekend.  The real cold air by the end of the week will sit across the northeast.  Ridging across the central plains will pull in warmer temperatures across eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

Mild temperatures in the 50′s and 60′s will stick around for Saturday; however, a front will drop temperatures into the low to middle 50′s for Sunday.  All in all this weekend should remain dry for all of you Christmas shoppers.

Drew Michaels

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Snow Flurries Possible In Northwest Arkansas November 30, 2010

Our Super Doppler Live Radar has been picking up on a few very light snow flurries in Benton County this morning. A northwest flow aloft along with a little low-level moisture is creating a favorable set up for upslope flurries in northwest Arkansas. This set up rarely brings snow flurries south of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel. The best chance for any light flakes will be along and north of State Road 412 in Benton, Washington and Madison Counties. A few flurries are also possible in Carroll county as well. No accumulation will occur.

Ross Ellet

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Remembering The Historic Ice Storm Of 2000 November 30, 2010

(Photo Courtesy of The National Weather Service in Little Rock)

It is hard to believe but this Christmas will mark the 10th anniversary of the worst and most costliest natural disaster to ever hit the state of Arkansas. The river valley and Ouachitas was especially hard hit with about 3 inches of ice accumulation over the 2 and a half day event. Northwest Arkansas picked up around 1/2″ of ice accumulation and 5″ of snow and sleet. 500,000 people lost power across the state and at least 15,000 people wouldn’t see their power return until after the new year. We will have more information on TV and online later this month during the anniversary. In the mean time we want to hear from you. If you have a story or any photos that you want to share please email us at weather@4029tv.com. We will try to get the stories up in a blog entry later this month.

Ross Ellet

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Rain Is Out, Cold Air Coming In November 29, 2010

The rain has moved away into the eastern half of Arkansas.  However, cold air is just starting to move in for tonight.  Above is a temperature map at 3pm this afternoon, where it is in the 20s for much of the Northern Plains.  The winds will pick up out of the west and northwest bringing in some of this colder air on Tuesday.  Lows will reach the upper 20s and Northwest Arkansas with winds at 15-20 mph, creating wind chills of about 15-20 degrees Tuesday morning.  For the Fort Smith area, lows between 30-35 with a wind chill in the mid 20s.  Clouds and limited sunshine will only allow for highs in the upper 30s and 40s Tuesday afternoon.

Damon Shaw,  40/29 Meteorologist

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Today’s Rain Showers November 29, 2010

Rain showers and a few rumbles of thunder will continue through about 9 to 10 am this morning. Very light rain and drizzle will continue into the early afternoon. All of the rainfall will move out by 3pm this afternoon.

Ross Ellet

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Cocorahs Volunteers November 29, 2010

CoCoRaHS is much more than a funny name. It is a group of volunteers that is reshaping the world of Meteorology and future forecasts one observation at a time. CoCoRaHS is an acronym that stands for Community Collaborative Rainfall Hail and Snow Network. It is a grassroots volunteer network of backyard weather observers of all ages. Arkansas has only been apart of the network for about a year and a half, but all ready the state has over 200 weather observers. The volunteer network has now stretched to all 50 states with 32,725 volunteers and over 10 million observations recorded.  

How does it work?

Everyday thousands of volunteers check their rain gauge and/or measure newly fallen snowfall. Then they log on to the CoCoRaHS site and type in their new observation. The site then displays all of the precipitation data from across the country.

How observations are used?

The precipitation records are kept on the site and the data is free to anyone. You can look at today’s rainfall or search through the data base for prior events. This rainfall data is giving Meteorologists and Researchers a high-resolution snapshot of precipitation events. Here at 40/29 TV we will use some of these rain and snow totals to use on TV and here on the blog. The data becomes extremely useful during snow and flooding events. Researchers are able to use this information to help improve numerical computer models. This in turn will help to provide more accurate forecasts, more specifically it should provide for better precipitation forecasts. As an observer you can also track your precipitation totals over time on the CoCoRaHS website.

Interested in signing up?

The only thing  you need is a passion for weather and an offical rain gauge to get started. There are a few training slide shows and lots of information on the CoCoRaHS website. http://www.cocorahs.org/

Ross Ellet

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Showers Developing Monday November 28, 2010

Above is the NAM(North American) computer model rainfall amounts for Monday.  Clouds will come in quickly tonight with some scattered showers developing over Southeast Oklahoma and West and Northwest Arkansas Monday morning.  Rain may be rather hit and miss in some places around here, but rain and thunderstorms becomes heavier and more widespread just off to our east.  These scattered showers and thunderstorms will begin to move out  Monday afternoon, with rainfall amounts expected to about a 1/4″ or less for most locations around here with heavier amounts just off to the east of the Fort Smith/ Fayetteville area. 

Damon Shaw, 40/29 meteorologist

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Travel Outlook For Sunday November 27, 2010

Plenty of sunshine for much of the region to wrap up Thanksgiving weekend.  Clouds will come into Dallas late in the day and spread over our area Sunday night.  Showers are expected to develop late Sunday night (probably after midnight) in Southeast Oklahoma before developing in Western Arkansas Monday morning. 

Damon Shaw, 40/29 Meteorologist

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Saturday State Parks Forecast November 26, 2010

After a start in the 20s Saturday morning, it will be a little warmer compared to Thanksgiving and Friday, as temperatures rebound into the 50s for most of Arkansas’ state parks.   Winds will be light for one more day before gusty winds increase from the south on Sunday.  Although the temps will be a few degrees warmer for Sunday, Saturday might be the better day to hang up those Christmas lights.

Damon Shaw, 40/29 meteorologist

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Travel Outlook November 26, 2010

Despite the frigid start to the day, temperatures will rebound later this afternoon into the upper 40s to low 50s with a sunny sky. We are not alone, the winter weather has pushed well off to the east and as a result the travel forecast is smooth sailing at least weather wise. If you are heading to the Arkansas/LSU game in Little Rock on Saturday it will be high & dry but remember your coat or sweatshirt.

Ross Ellet

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