Dennis Cavanaugh of the National Weather Service in Little Rock is predicting storms from Saturday evening into Sunday morning. Cavanaugh says it will begin in the northwestern part of the state late Saturday and move east-southeast toward central Arkansas on Sunday morning. The full forecast follows:
A strong upper level storm system will move across Arkansas Saturday night into Sunday and bring an excellent chance for showers and thunderstorms across the state. The biggest threat for severe storms appears to be Saturday night into Sunday morning across the northwestern parts of the state.
The most likely threat from severe storms will be in the form of straight line damaging winds as storms are expected to organize into line segments. Isolated instances of tornadoes and large hail are also possible. A line of storms is expected to organize over northwest Arkansas Saturday night and then move east-southeast towards central Arkansas Sunday morning. Storms are expected to weaken as they approach central Arkansas as they are expected to move in during the coolest time of the day.
The line of storms is expected to continue east Sunday morning into eastern Arkansas, but the storms are not expected to be severe at that time. Gusty winds, and locally heavy rainfall are expected to accompany storms on Sunday. Behind the initial line of storms…scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely to redevelop across Arkansas. None of these storms are expected to be severe, but it will keep rain in the forecast across much of the state during the day on Sunday.
Due to the strong nature of the upper level storm system, we are very confident that the entire state will see some rain with this event. Rainfall amounts are expected to range from 1 to 2 inches, but will vary depending on where the strongest storms set up. Localized flooding is possible, however widespread flooding is not expected at this time.
Much drier and cooler air will filter in across the state Sunday night leading to a cool and dry Monday.
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— Dennis Cavanaugh, NWS Little Rock