Rain will turn to ice and snow later this week as temperatures drop rapidly on the plains. Travel will be dangerous and power outages are expected.
ARKANSAS, USA – February 2022 begins with a major winter storm that will sweep the central United States, bringing with it a chaotic mix of rain, ice, sleet, and snow. The further north you go, the more sleet and snow is expected. The further south you go, the more ice is likely to form.
Arkansas and Oklahoma will get the heart of this storm, starting with ice and then sleet. Gatherings will be difficult.
FAST FORECAST (scroll down for more)
– Up to half an inch of ice
– A few inches of sleet/snow on top
Rain showers move north from the Gulf of Mexico. Colder air plummeting south of Canada mixes with the rain, turning the precipitation into ice, sleet and snow.
The heaviest snow will fall from Oklahoma to Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. The largest accumulations of ice will build up from Arkansas towards the Ohio River Valley. Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley sit right on the edge of heavy snow and ice. We get a mix of both.
- Tuesday: rain showers
- Wednesday morning: rain
- Wednesday evening: rain to ice
- Wednesday night: ice cream
- Thursday morning: Ice to sleet/snow
- Thursday afternoon: sleet/snow
- Thursday night: snow flurry
The heaviest ice in Arkansas will be in the higher terrain of the Boston Mountains. Almost half an inch of ice is possible. Much of Northwest Arkansas, the River Valley, and Northeast Arkansas will absorb about a quarter inch of ice. These ice totals may vary. They are trending down at the moment because more sleet and snow can mix in. That’s good news!
Traveling on I-49 or US-71 in the mountains becomes dangerous, especially on bridges and overpasses.
Another ice storm like 2000 or 2009?
Short answer, no. At least not for western Arkansas. Eastern Arkansas is still a wild card. Around Fayetteville and Fort Smith we got closer to 1.5 inches in their respected storms. Power outages were widespread for over a week. This storm is likely to drop 0.25 inches to 0.5 inches of ice, which can cause numerous power outages in general over a few days.
The heaviest snow will be north in Missouri and the Great Lakes. However, if enough cold air blows in, we get more sleet and snow than ice, even in Arkansas.
It looks like much of the state will get at least a layer of snow.
Northwest Arkansas: 4-6″
Southwest Missouri: 6-8″+
Changes in the storm trail affect ice and snow accumulations.
- power outages
- Roads slippery to impassable
- tree damage
Wind chills are likely to drop below zero by Friday morning, but sunshine and 40s this weekend should start to melt all winter weather.
Winter Forecast 2021-2022
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