The Pine Bluff area was spared any serious winter weather from the storm that moved through Arkansas Monday.
“We had southeasterly winds all day today, which is why we did not issue any advisories for winter weather in Southeast Arkansas,” said National Weather Service meteorologist B.J. Simpson. “The winds ushered in warm enough air to keep the frozen precipitation to a minimum. Even when the temperatures were cold enough this morning to support some sleet and freezing rain, the warm weather we have had so far this winter kept the ground warm enough to keep the frozen precipitation from sticking.”
Simpson said that another factor working against frozen precipitation in Southeast Arkansas was the fact that the precipitation did not begin falling until after dawn.
“The conditions that led to Pine Bluff getting little frozen precipitation from the storm were the warm air, warm ground and the fact that the precipitation fell during the day,” Simpson said. “Grider Field reported sleet from 8:01 a.m. until 8:59 a.m., with freezing rain reported for a time after that. It was technically freezing rain because it fell while the air temperature was 32 degrees, but there was no observed freezing on contact with surfaces. Even on cloudy days there can be enough solar radiation coming through to keep the freezing rain from sticking.”
The NWS reported .17 inches of precipitation at the Grider Field reporting station in Pine Bluff as of 3:53 p.m. Monday.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Simpson said that southwest Arkansas, where the precipitation began falling before dawn, recorded some of the highest snowfall totals in the state.
“DeQueen [Sevier County] had 2.3 inches, three inches fell at Horatio [Sevier County] and two inches in Dierks [Howard County],” Simpson said. “The highest report was in Baxter County near Mountain Home, where 3.5 inches of snow fell.”
Simpson said that Little Rock reported six tenths of an inch of snow that quickly melted off.
“We had snow in Little Rock in the mid-to late-morning timeframe but it has already melted,” Simpson said early Monday afternoon.
Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department’s District 2 office at Pine Bluff was monitoring the approaching storm and took the necessary precautions.
“We had our crews out yesterday [Sunday] morning around 10:00 or 11:00 pretreating the bridges and overpasses along I-530, Highway 79 and Highway 63,” said David Henning, district 2 engineer with the AHTD. “We use liquid magnesium chloride in our pretreating. If we can get it down at the right time and then have a light rain it helps to lower the freezing point by a few degrees and so delays icing and helps our crews to get ice and snow off of the bridge deck easier. This makes a big difference with these types of storms.”
Henning said that there were only a few instances of slick spots on the region’s roadways Monday morning.
“Our crews were out at 6:00 this morning applying abrasives,” Henning said. “There were a few slick areas in places this morning along 530 and out in western Grant County, but no real problems. We have elected to have our crews out this evening because we have some real concerns about refreezing. With the rain we are getting this morning there won’t be any real chance for drying before dark. So, we’ll have our crews out patrolling and on call to respond to anything that may come up or that MECA may have for us.”
Henning said that the highway department spreads a mixture of finely crushed rock and salt, known as an abrasive, to roadways once they have begun to accumulate frozen precipitation.
“Our crews will be out tonight,” Henning said. “They will be able to cover our morning rush hour which is usually from 3:30 to 6:00 a.m., when the paper mill folks are on the road. With the threat of a refreeze, a very real potential, we will be ready.”
A spokesperson with Troop E of the Arkansas State Police headquartered in Pine Bluff reported no weather-related accidents from the storm.