Deep South: 1
Arkansas: 0
Lots of snow fell from south Texas, through the Deep South, all the way to the Eastern Seaboard. Many places broke snowfall records for the heavy amounts and for how early in the season the snow came! But it WAS cold in Arkansas, so why did the system not come our way and give us snow?
Most of our snows take place when a cold front sweeps through and a system knocks down our temperatures from being warm to cold. We sometimes see snowstorms in these types of setups, especially if the center of lowest pressure stays closer to Little Rock. This did not happen this past week. Instead, a surge of Arctic air blasted through Arkansas and kept us cold all week. Storm systems do not like to develop within these Arctic air masses. They tend to develop along the southern and eastern sides of upper-level polar lows. This is what happened. The cyclone had to develop further south because of our cold air. Seems like a paradox because we know we need cold air for snow, but this time, it kept the storm away.
It's not usual for the Deep South to get more snow than Arkansas. But so goes the weather...
-Matt