The National Weather Service in Little Rock has issued the following update regarding the remnants of hurricane Delta as it is about to enter Arkansas this weekend:
The latest data and forecast information from the National Hurricane Center indicated that Hurricane Delta has weakened slightly since moving into the northern waters of the Gulf of Mexico over the past 24 hours.
***Delta is still a dangerous and powerful storm***
Hurricane Delta is expected to make landfall along the Louisiana coastline sometime Friday afternoon/evening. Following landfall, Delta will quickly weaken into a Tropical Depression by Saturday afternoon and will continue lifting northeast, moving through the lower Mississippi River valley and AR/LA/MS border region.
The storm center will lift towards the northeast over eastern Arkansas late Friday night through Saturday morning, but impacts could be felt as early as Friday evening for portions of southeastern Arkansas.
Primary local impacts expected are:
–Areas of heavy rainfall, with 2 to over 5 inches of rain and locally greater amounts possible, mainly along an axis from El Dorado to West Memphis and may result in an increased Flash Flooding threat.
–Sustained winds of 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph as the center of the circulation moves over southeast Arkansas late Friday night into Saturday morning.
The above impacts are based on the current forecast strength and track. However, uncertainty remains on the exact track and intensity as the remnants pass over Arkansas. As a result, changes to these forecast elements means variability of impacts remains possible.