Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Little Rock, AR

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171
FXUS64 KLZK 282345
AFDLZK

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
645 PM CDT Mon Sep 28 2026

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Issued at 645 PM CDT Mon Sep 28 2026

- Increasing temperatures through Wednesday

- Expectations remain high for beneficial rainfall to occur across
  Arkansas from late week into the weekend

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1243 AM CDT Mon Sep 28 2026

Main features in place across the CONUS early this morning include
H500 cyclones off the Mid-Atlantic and northern California
coasts, H500 ridging across the middle of the country and
Hurricane Polo off the Baja Peninsula. Locally, mid-level NW flow
will remain in place for one more day which will assist in some
isolated shower/thunderstorm development across mainly western
portions of the state.

From Tue to Wed, the mid-level ridge axis west of the area will
shift east and be positioned from south Texas toward the Ohio
Valley and Great Lakes. At the sfc, ridging to the east will
provide a return to srly flow across the state and temperatures
will warm to well above normal values. As the heat peaks on
Wednesday, daytime highs will be nearly 10 degrees above normal
for late September.

Beyond Wednesday, confidence in various forecast elements begins
to decrease. The western US H500 cyclone will be trying to make
its way east of the Four Corners. Ahead of this feature, tropical
moisture associated with the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Polo
will be streaming northeast across the Southern/Central Plains.
This moisture will be characterized by anomalously high PW values
of 2 inches or more.

From Thu to Fri mid-level ridging across the Southeast begins to
strengthen and will become a major roadblock for the SW cyclone.
This will likely lead to the H500 low opening and lifting more
northward toward the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes where enhanced
zonal flow will be in place. How long it takes for this to happen
will dictate time of arrival for precip across the state as well
as how much precip falls. At this point, a slower arrival time of
precip from west to east across the state is expected. This will
provide a multi-day heavy rainfall event across portions of New
Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

GFS and ECMWF Ensemble data both remain optimistic in appreciable
rainfall across Arkansas. Both outputs indicate a greater than
70% chance of more than one inch of rain through the period. Probs
of greater than two inches of rain is greater than 40% between
both models, with the GEFS output being higher than the ECMWF.
What is agreed upon by both models is the highest rainfall totals
remain likely across the western third to half of the state. Given
the ongoing high wildfire danger and short/long term rainfall
deficits in place, hopefully things will line up for widespread
rainfall.

&&

.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 640 PM CDT Mon Sep 28 2026

Upper level high pressure will continue to dominate through the
period with widespread VFR conditions expected. Winds will
generally be light and from an easterly direction.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Batesville AR     84  55  87  62 /   0   0   0   0
Camden AR         91  60  93  65 /  10   0   0   0
Harrison AR       82  58  87  66 /   0   0   0   0
Hot Springs AR    84  60  90  66 /  20   0   0   0
Little Rock   AR  85  60  90  66 /  10   0   0   0
Monticello AR     87  61  92  66 /  10   0   0   0
Mount Ida AR      83  58  90  64 /  20   0   0   0
Mountain Home AR  83  56  86  63 /   0   0   0   0
Newport AR        82  56  87  64 /   0   0   0   0
Pine Bluff AR     86  58  90  64 /   0   0   0   0
Russellville AR   84  60  88  65 /  10   0   0   0
Searcy AR         85  57  90  63 /   0   0   0   0
Stuttgart AR      87  59  90  66 /   0   0   0   0

&&

.LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&

$$

SHORT TERM...99
LONG TERM....99
AVIATION...56