LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Hot summer weather is here, and Little Rock’s first 100-Degree Day in over three years, or 1,100 days, is possible too. July 15, 2018, is the last time Little Rock officially reached 100°. Little Rock reached 101° then.
These images show the forecasted height of the 500 mb pressure level in our atmosphere at 4 PM starting Tuesday, July 27. Most know that hot air rises or expands. When our atmosphere heats up, it expands too, so it reaches a higher height.
These images show how the height of the 500 mb pressure level increases over the next week and a half. Don’t worry about the actual height but notice how the darker orange grows. That denotes higher atmospheric height which translates to hotter weather. This ridge of high pressure aloft will be at its peak Friday and Saturday which will be when 100° will be most likely in Little Rock.
Saturday does show a slight drop in that ridge to the North of Arkansas. That’s signals a trough of low pressure aloft that will move in with a cold front on Sunday and knock back the heat for the following week as August starts. By Monday that ridge over Arkansas is gone.
If it does not reach 100° this week, i.e. Friday or Saturday, it may be another couple of weeks before it’s possible again.
