SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK: MARCH 8 - MARCH 12

WANT TO BE A WEATHER WATCHER?
If you're in Arkansas, we need weather watchers!  If you're in Madison, Searcy or Stone Counties, you can be the FIRST cocorahs.org weather spotter on the map.  Recent rains have gone unreported and weather trackers and researchers nationwide need your valuable rainfall reports. 

Of course, if you're anywhere else in the Ozarks... you're welcome to join the free weather tracking network.  Read more here.

 

UPDATED:  Thursday at 6:00 a.m.

Good morning!  The clouds have nearly cleared the region this morning and fog has developed in spots.  The visibility will improve later this morning with some sunshine expected area-wide today!  Temperatures will be around 60 for afternoon highs.  A storm system will begin to organize over the Rockies and plains tomorrow.  Ahead of it a strong south breeze will develop and boost our temperatures into the middle and upper 60s, a nice change from the recent week's weather.  The most challenging part of the weekend forecast is the track of the storm.  Colder air will be rushing in fairly quickly on Saturday and rain is expected to change to snow by afternoon over western Missouri.  There are two "camps" among the computer models this morning.  One takes the center of the storm over southern Oklahoma and central Arkansas.  The other takes the core over northern Arkansas.  In either case I think it will snow over a good majority of the Ozarks, but the northern track would favor the potential for some accumulation overnight Saturday into Sunday morning.  The big factor here will be that ground temperatures (2" soil temps) are in the middle and upper 40s right now, so it will be difficult to get much snow to pile up. Snow could last into Sunday afternoon if the northern track pans out.  What I am confident about is the cold on Sunday. Highs will only be in the 30s and 40s with a very strong northwest wind.  As is typical with any March snows, it will leave quickly and we'll warm up next week with highs back in the 60s by mid-week. 

Brandon Beck
KY3 Stormteam
Meteorologist
bbeck@ky3.com

OWL CAM
This live stream from the Audubon Society is one of the hottest things going right now.  Watch Mr and Mrs. Barn Owl feed the 7 kids 24-7.  A whole lotta rodents are meeting their doom in Southern California right now.  And it's good family tv.  If you're up late, check in after dark (California is two hours behind us)... activity will surely pick up as owls (as you know) are nocturnal.  Hit Refresh after 15 minutes to keep watching it.   

PURPLE MARTINS ON THE MOVE
Raise the colonial gourds! The scouts are coming, the scouts are coming!  The purple martin is the largest of the swallow family in North America and has a voracious appetite for insects.  There's nothing better than helping to raise new families of natural pest controllers in your own backyard.  Check out purplemartin.org for more information and a daily map of scout reports to see if they've arrived in the Ozarks yet.

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