Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Little Rock say discrete thunderstorms are expected to develop late Tuesday and grow upscale into a broken line of storms as they sweep across the state throughout the night.
Storms are expected to become a line as they push southeastward across the state into Tuesday evening. The primary hazards will be large hail and damaging wind gusts. A few tornadoes could develop with severe storms that remain isolated.
Highest probabilities, 15% or lower, are for large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes. Wind gusts of up to 75 mph, hail up to 2 inches, and up to EF2 tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
The latest area forecast puts the timing for the Arkadelphia area and south of the I-30 corridor after midnight through the early morning hours Wednesday. The local forecast calls for a 70% chance of storms during Wednesday’s pre-dawn hours, decreasing to 60% through mid-morning. As the cold front pushes through the state into Wednesday, scattered severe thunderstorms will be possible across southern Arkansas, with damaging winds and large hail as the main concerns.
Clark County will be part of a swath of south-central Arkansas where heavier rainfall will be possible Tuesday night through midday Wednesday. The axis of heavy rain is conditional to the front stalling over that portion of the state, allowing showers to train over the same locations. An estimated 1.2 to 2.5 inches of rain could fall on Arkadelphia. Meteorologists are leaning toward the upper end of the estimation.
Following the cold front, local daytime highs will top out at 70 degrees, with nighttime lows dipping into the mid-40s by Thursday.
After slight chances of precipitation Thursday afternoon, sunny skies will return Friday and Saturday along with temperatures in the mid-70s and 80s. The forecast calls for a 40-50% chance of rain Sunday under otherwise sunny skies.