Heat in Hempstead, Arkansas

Upper ridging persisted from the Southeast Gulf Coast into much of Arkansas on July 18th. Strong subsidence beneath the ridge resulted in additional compressional warming, which enabled afternoon temperatures to climb into the mid and upper 90s across Southwest Arkansas, extreme Northeast Texas and North Louisiana. Coupled with ample low level moisture that persisted across the area, heat indices ranged from 105-110 degrees across the northern sections of Southwest Arkansas. Meanwhile, temporary relief in the form of increased cloud cover and scattered showers and thunderstorms from a tropical wave spread west across portions of Northcentral Louisiana, which resulted in cooler temperatures and lower heat indices, and became more widespread across the area on the 19th.