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In the News -
November 2007
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| WHITE WEDNESDAY - People who were enjoying 80-degree weather a week ago were doing double takes Wednesday morning as thick frost left a snowy looking blanket in parts of Central Arkansas. (Photo by Mary Hightower, Cooperative Extension Service.) |
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| FROST-RIMMED - A thick frost added sparkle to plants in low-lying areas of Pulaski County, like these wild berry plants near Ferndale. (Photo by Mary Hightower, Cooperative Extension Service.) |
FERNDALE, Ark. - A cold front moving through the state Tuesday gave much of Arkansas its first taste of frost and a third of the state its first hard freeze.
According to the National Weather Service, a widespread hard freeze occurred north and west of a line from around Mena to around Paragould. A freeze in valleys and other low spots occurred in much of the middle third of the state to a line north and west of Texarkana to south of Paragould. A spotty freeze was reported from a line north and west of Texarkana to near Helena.
"It was very white this morning," said Berni Kurz, staff chair for the Washington County office the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Gardeners in Washington County were well prepared for the icy onslaught. He said those in attendance at a Tuesday night Master Gardener meeting were worn out from all the preparations they’d done earlier in the day, including digging up tender plants, such as tropicals, and bidding them good-bye.
Even though the weather service reported a temperature of 24 at Fayetteville this morning, Kurz didn’t need a thermometer to know it was cold.
"When we let the dog out this morning, he saw the white grass and said, ‘you want me to go out there?’," Kurz said. "He came straight back in."
In Lonoke County, extension agent Keith Perkins, said the frost would help soybean farmers.
"This will remove some of the green leaves from beans and weeds from late soybeans, leading to a decrease in foreign matter and moisture over time," he said. "Sunny days without rain are really more important for farmers to finish harvest and planting of wheat crop."
On a personal note, "I was happy to see the frost to kill the grass in my yard. I was tired of mowing," Perkins said.
Hempstead County Staff Chair Gerald Alexander said he’d received calls from concerned cattlemen wondering about frost-affected forage.
"Both callers were planning to harvest Johnson grass anyway, so there shouldn’t be any problems," he said.
According to the national Weather Service, here are the typical dates for first frost and first freezes from selected communities around Arkansas. The figures are based on climatological normals.
| First Frost | First Freeze | |
| Dumas | November 3 | November 13 |
| El Dorado | October 26 | November 7 |
| Fayetteville | October 10 | October 24 |
| Fort Smith | October 17 | October 31 |
| Harrison | October 17 | October 29 |
| Helena | November 1 | November 13 |
| Hope | October 24 | November 7 |
| Jonesboro | October 10 | October 24 |
| Little Rock | November 1 | November 12 |
| Mountain Home | October 13 | October 25 |
| Pine Bluff | October 31 | November 12 |
| Texarkana | November 4 | November 16 |
| West Memphis | October 20 | November 6 |
For more information on how cold weather can affect farms, gardens and homes, visit www.uaex.edu. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
November 9, 2007By Mary Hightower
Extension Communications
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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