Ozarks Freeze Warning Brings Coldest Temperatures of the Season

Northern Arkansas is under a freeze warning until 8 a.m. Friday as a cold front sweeps across the Ozarks, bringing the coldest night of the season so far, KY3 reported.

The Thursday afternoon front dropped daytime highs into the 50s and lower 60s, setting up sharply colder conditions with mostly clear skies and overnight lows dropping into the upper 20s and lower 30s across the area.

Residents are advised that any outdoor plants should be covered up or brought inside. Friday will bring mostly sunny skies, though temperatures will remain well below normal with highs ranging between the middle 40s and 50 degrees.

The cold weather continues into the weekend, coinciding with the start of firearms deer season on Saturday. Hunters heading out for early morning hunts should plan accordingly, as temperatures in the eastern Ozarks could dip into the lower to middle 20s Saturday morning, while elsewhere lows will reach the middle to upper 20s. Saturday will stay very cool with partly sunny skies, high cirrus clouds, and highs averaging near 49 degrees.

Sunday morning will start near freezing, but a returning southeast breeze is expected to help push highs back into the lower 50s by afternoon under partly sunny conditions. Rain chances remain low through the weekend and the area will stay mostly dry, though an upper-level storm system moving across Oklahoma and Texas on Sunday could bring a stray shower or two to northern Arkansas Sunday night as it passes nearby.

Early next week will turn quiet and dry as a returning upper-level ridge brings a warming trend. Lows will settle in the middle to upper 30s on Monday and Tuesday, with highs reaching the middle to upper 50s.

Wednesday will be partly sunny and pleasant with lows in the lower 40s and highs in the lower 60s before an upper-level ridge buckling late next week brings possible scattered shower chances back to the Ozarks by Thursday.