Pine Bluff recorded its first snowfall in more than a month late Tuesday, as just 0.23 inches of snow mixed in with sleet glazed streets and other surfaces.
A cold weather advisory is in place until midnight Thursday in Pine Bluff. Temperatures fell below freezing by 7 p.m. Tuesday and continued a sharp drop down to 19 just before 10 a.m. Wednesday. The wind chill was as low as 3 at the time, with wind blowing from the north at 18 mph.
The low for Wednesday is expected to drop to 7, with a high for Thursday under mostly cloudy skies at 27.
Despite the bitter cold, if the area sees any more snowfall, it’ll be just light flurries, said Jeff Hood, forecaster with the National Weather Service North Little Rock office.
“Like any other high impact event, you have to have the right timing and right moisture,” he said, adding moisture was moving east of the area.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Without an upper-level storm system, snow won’t be produced, Hood said.
An inch of snow previously fell on Pine Bluff Jan. 9-10. The coldest day in 2025, so far, is Jan. 22, when the low was 15 but no snow fell.
Thursday and Friday may not bring much of a reprieve from the icy conditions despite sunny skies. An extreme cold warning will be in effect from Wednesday night through Thursday morning, with temperatures topping at 26 during the day and a low of 14 that evening. Friday will see partly sunny skies with a high of 32 and a low of 21, but Pine Bluff will surge from freezing temps Saturday with a high of 45 under partly sunny skies.
Pine Bluff could set daily record lows by the end of this week, yet it’s usually well-above normal temperatures that lead to severe weather events, Hood said. The record lows for Feb. 19 are 25 (maximum) and 6 (minimum) in 2021; for Feb. 20, 31 (maximum) in 2006 and 4 (minimum) in 2021; and for Feb. 21, 33 (maximum) in 1955 and 16 (minimum) in 2021.
“This is pretty intense cold,” Hood said. “It’s not unheard of, but it is near record-breaking in terms of intensity. Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, it hasn’t been this cold. We’re looking at near record-breaking temps. When you factor in influence from the wind, … it will feel like 0.”
The Opportunity House, 1305 E. Sixth Ave., is serving as a warming center each day from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Friday. The warming center is made possible by a $10,000 grant from the city, which Opportunity House director Chris Taylor said is being used to hire four temporary residential assistants and to buy groceries for dinner.
“Monday night we had seven people come to the warming center, and (Tuesday) night we had 14,” Taylor said. “We’re setting capacity at 15 to keep people comfortable and not overpacked. I very much expect to hit capacity (Wednesday) night.”
Ice patches and ice were reported on main highways coming out of Pine Bluff, except for Arkansas 365 through Jefferson, before 12:30 p.m., according to IDriveArkansas.com. Highways in southern Cleveland, Drew and Desha counties were clear at the time.
Taylor said he noticed a very thick sheet of ice in the area around The Opportunity House, which is the former First Ward Elementary School, when picking up a volunteer Wednesday morning. “Whenever you start getting closer to Main Street, the ice starts to free up a little bit,” he said.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff rescheduled the Campus Conversation with the first of four candidates for chancellor, Robert C. Mock, to 2 p.m. Thursday at the STEM Conference Center. The other three open forums for candidates Anthony Graham (Friday), Carla Martin (Feb. 26) and Robert Z. Carr Jr. (Feb. 28) are still on as scheduled.
Southeast Arkansas College pivoted to virtual instruction Wednesday, while classes were canceled in the Pine Bluff, Watson Chapel and White Hall school districts. Neither of the districts have announced plans for Thursday.
The Jefferson County Courthouse closed at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in anticipation of icy roads but will reopen Thursday, County Judge Gerald Robinson said.