Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
600 AM CST Sun Nov 28 2021

...Winter Weather Awareness Week in Arkansas...

November 29th through December 3rd is Winter Weather Awareness
Week in Arkansas. The purpose of this week is to remind people
what winter weather can bring, and how to deal with
hazardous winter conditions. Now is the time to prepare
for the upcoming winter season.

During each weekday, a different winter weather topic will be
covered in a Public Information Statement...

Monday...The Outlook for the Coming Winter
Tuesday...Winter Precipitation Types
Wednesday...Winter Weather Watches, Warnings, and Advisories
Thursday...Winter Weather Safety Rules
Friday...The Cold of Winter

Climatological winter runs from December through February.
The last six winters have featured mostly warmer and
wetter than average conditions. The notable exceptions were
the cold winter of 2020/2021, and the dry winter of
2016/2017.

WINTER AVG TEMP DEPARTURE PRECIPITATION DEPARTURE

2015/2016 45.5 +4.2 12.89 +0.77
2016/2017 46.7 +5.4 9.54 -2.58
2017/2018 41.3 0.0 19.70 +7.58
2018/2019 43.7 +2.4 20.03 +7.91
2019/2020 44.7 +3.4 14.22 +2.10
2020/2021 39.6 -1.7 11.98 -0.14

While weather conditions varied somewhat, historic or extreme
events were almost non-existent. There was one notable exception,
and that was the winter of 2020/2021. In February, an Arctic
intrusion affected areas all the way to the Gulf Coast. In
Arkansas, temperatures were twenty to more than thirty degrees
below normal from the 14th through the 18th. During this time
frame, two big storm systems unleashed more than twenty inches
of snow in central and southern sections of the state.

Interestingly, the most recent huge episodes of snow, ice, and
severe thunderstorms occurred when La Nina conditions were dominant,
or when water temperatures near the equator in the Pacific Ocean
were colder than normal. Since early 2012, La Nina has largely
been infrequent and weak.

With La Nina firmly in place, the largest tornado outbreak in
Arkansas took place in January of 1999. There were 56 tornadoes
spawned. In December of 2000, two crippling ice storms occurred,
and remain one of the largest natural disasters in state history.
In February of 2008, a tornado tracked 122 miles through seven
counties in the north and west. This was a record long track
in the state. Another devastating ice storm hit the north in
January of 2009. Finally, one to two feet of snow buried the
Ozark Mountains in February of 2011. In April and May, an
astonishing 67 /of the yearly total of 75/ tornadoes were
counted. There was also record flooding along the Black and
lower White Rivers.

Heading into this winter, it appears that La Nina will take
charge again. In fact, a moderate /versus weak/ La Nina is
expected, and that increases the chances of history being made
in Arkansas in the months ahead. It also favors a warmer and
drier pattern overall across the southern United States.

&&

Please visit our web site at https://www.weather.gov/lzk

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* Synchronet * The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)