Officials with the National Weather Service say residents of Arkansas and Oklahoma should break out the long johns, check the propane tanks and get ready for some serious Fall weather later in the week as temperatures bring on the first freezes and light frost of the season.
In Arkansas, freezes typically occur by the last week in October across northern and western sections of the state (Ozark and Ouachita Mountains).
Elsewhere, freezes tend to hold off until the first couple of weeks in November.
In the spring, the last freeze usually happens by mid-March in the southeast. For the remainder of the region, freezes usually linger into April and sometimes into early May in parts of the north.
The NWS released a map on Monday showing expected dates when the conditions will be right for both freezes and frosts. The dates shown are based on climatological normals, with a temperature of 36 degrees for frost and 32 degrees for a freeze.
There is at least a 50 percent probability that a first (F) or last (L) Frost/Freeze will occur on these dates. Probabilities go up to 90 percent for a FFrost/FFreeze two weeks later and a LFrost/LFreeze two weeks prior.
Probabilities go down to 10 percent for a FFrost/Freeze two weeks prior and a LFrost/LFreeze two weeks later. The dates are courtesy of the National Climatic Data Center.
In laymen’s terms, bundle up. Because it”s fixing to get cold.
