Cold temperatures and an inch of freezing rain, sleet and snow are in the forecast for Tuesday afternoon and night, according to the National Weather Service, which has put the chance of something slick coming down at 100%.
“It is going to precipitate,” said meteorologist Jeff Hood. “That is for sure.”
In response, Pine Bluff city officials have designated Opportunity House as a warming center.
Hood said Monday afternoon that the weather service had updated its forecast for the state and that Pine Bluff would be under a winter weather advisory throughout the day Tuesday with dry weather through mid-day until early afternoon. The advisory will change to a winter storm warning afterward.
“Precipitation will be getting close by the middle of the day or early afternoon,” Hood said. “The freezing line in Jefferson County will hover between freezing rain and sleet. After the warmest part of the day passes, and that won’t be warm at all, all precipitation will change to primarily sleet, and during the evening hours, that could turn to snow.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
He said the amount of sleet and snow is hard to pinpoint because Jefferson County is “right on the line” that separates what type of participation there is.
“But we are predicting about an inch,” he said. “Further north, and that number goes up and further south, it goes down.”
Areas to the west and south of Pine Bluff stand a greater chance of seeing freezing rain, Hood said.
While the storm could include some freezing rain, he said, “we’re not calling this an ice storm,” because the conditions for that would be short-lived as the precipitation moves from rain to sleet or snow.
The storm will see low surface temperatures, which include a low of 21 on Tuesday night.
“That really cold air and cold enough air are what’s creating the opportunity for this event,” Hood said. “After that moves through, the temperatures plummet.” The low Wednesday night is forecast to be 12 degrees and Thursday night, 14 degrees, plenty cold enough to cover outside pipes and leave water dripping inside to avoid burst pipes, according to Liberty Utilities, which also advised to fix drafty windows, wrap exposed pipes and leave home thermostats set at no lower than 55 degrees.
The American Veterinary Medical Association also recommends bringing cats and dogs inside in cold weather to avoid frostbite and hypothermia.
Entergy sent out a winter weather advisory Monday afternoon, saying the utility’s crews “are ready to respond” if outages occur.
“Restoring your power safely and quickly is our top priority,” Entergy stated. “Power restoration during extreme cold can take longer due to increased demand.”
Mayor Vivian Flowers said Opportunity House, 1305 E. Sixth Ave., will be used as a warming center. The center is typically a day room, but when it is tapped to be a warming center, those needing to get out of the weather can spend the night there. The warming center will be in operation through 7 a.m. Friday, Flowers said.