Although temperatures will not climb above freezing on Sunday, most of the ice and snow is expected to melt of area roadways by mid-morning with heating from the sun.
Sunshine is expected for most of the day with temperatures only in the teens in NW Arkansas and low 20s in the River Valley.
In Rogers, I49 is mostly clear but side streets and on-ramps are snow and sleet covered across Benton County.
In Washington County, you can see many of the roads are partially clear but ice and snow remains on many of the side roads.
In Fort Smith, the Garrison Ave bridge is clear and the high department is reporting mostly clear roads.
The Wind Chill is brutal on Sunday morning with temperatures well below zero across the area.
Highs in this afternoon won’t climb above freezing and are expected in the low to mid 20s.
The reason roads will melt despite below freezing temperatures has to do with the albedo of the surface. Darker colors like asphalt will absorb the sun’s radiation and will warm temperatures above freezing melting road surfaces which will quickly evaporate into the air. Additionally, the air is so dry some of the ice or snow may sublimate and go from a solid directly to a gas due to very low dewpoint temperatures.
Hang in there, it gets much warmer by Tuesday.
-Garrett
