CAMERAS, FOOTBALL, FALL, ARKANSAS WEATHER THE PERFECT COMBINATION

FOOTBALL SEASON HAS ARRIVED IN THE NATURAL STATE!

TASTE OF FALL, HEAVY RAIN, END OF SUMMER?



Most of the time this time of year, we are talking about high heat and high humidity for the end of summer in August. This year, we could be looking at record breaking”COLD” by August standards with highs struggling to get into the 60s. As of this writing, everyone was still in the 80s and 90s, but those may be a memory as we close out August with those temps struggling to get to 70. Now if your like me, I LOVE it. For some though it will be a shock from the heat of the season we have had. With this though as you know, comes something. Now we are not talking about severe weather but as we know fall severe season is not far behind. Rainfall this week will be common, also unusual for the time of year unless we have a tropical system. With the Gulf shutoff from tropical activity, a very early season arctic front will be moving south. This will bring very unseasonable cold to the natural state and if this was in January we would be talking about a big winter storm. This time though, it will be in the form of several inches of rainfall, and even in a drought it could still lead to flooding. Does this mean the end of summer though? According to Vice President and Current Chief Forecaster Cameron Barnes, while the long stretch of near 100 may be over for us, September does bring the heat from time to time and with us heading into a La Nina fall, we will be dealing with bouts of hot weather at least through September. Does it mean that the peak of summer is behind us? Yes, says Barnes as we look ahead to what is to come with the fall severe season on the horizon. According to Barnes, this fall could be just as active as the spring given recent lack of tropical activity, however it is a bit too soon to raise alarm. 



NEW CAMERAS GO ONLINE! 



Now of course the most exciting part of this, is the addition of new weather cameras around the state. Our install team traveled to southeastern and central Arkansas over the weekend, doing installs in Ashley and Saline Counties. This is a continuation of the Arkansas Weather Watchers Skycam Network, an extensive network of weather cameras that will be going up around the state to help bring eyes to the skies and help all of the national weather service offices bring better warnings and alerts to the people of Arkansas. 

According to Cameron of Arkansas Weather Watchers, “this network will help us and the NWS by being able to see not only inside a storm but see what a storm is doing up to 25 miles away and give a lead time warning to the public”. Barnes also states that the network will be beneficial even in the winter time in verifying radar returns of snow, sleet, ice or rain by seeing temps both at the surface and sky conditions in any given location. 

This weekend featured 4 installs with 2 going online over the weekend and 2 more coming online once internet issues are worked out in the coming weeks. Cameras that were installed were in Ashley county in the communities of Hamburg, Crossett, Snyder, AR and in Saline/Pulaski county lines in Alexander, AR. Jason Brisby, Ashley County Emergency Coordinator had this to say about the addition of Cameras in Ashley County, “ Well, as of now, I think the cameras are great and I think it’s gonna help Ashley County out going in the future so we can see what’s going on with it with the weather and with all three of them getting put online I think it’s gonna be great for everybody the entire state”

As of this writing, there are now a total of 7 weather cameras online around the state and in southern Missouri. Those communities are Rocky Comfort, MO, Siloam Springs, AR, Stuttgart, AR, Helena, AR, El Dorado, AR, Alexander, AR and Hamburg, AR. 

There will be 2 more going online as mentioned above, with the install team heading to Jonesboro, Heber Spring, Cave City and Malvern over the next couple of weeks. Future targets also include places in southwest Arkansas, the river valley and north central as AWW looks to add up to 50 cameras before the spring of 2026. Once again if you are interested in partnering to assist this project email Cameron or Derek at info@arkansasweatherwatchers.org for more information. 

NEW ARKANSAS WEATHER CHANNEL COMES ONLINE



Over the summer, a lot of upgrades have taken place. One of those is a rehaul of the streaming platforms for the Weather Watchers Network. Dubbed the Arkansas Weather Channel, this will be a brand new and fresh look to a channel that became one of the fastest downloaded stations for streaming in Arkansas during the spring of 2025. As we go into fall, talking with Cameron Barnes of AWW, “the hope is the new, fresh look will benefit young and old alike. The idea is to bring a bit of nostalgia from the days of growing up as a kid, always watching the weather channel and a new fresh look with features that benefit today’s audience with information pertinent to Arkansas viewers” This channel will feature forecasts, watches/warnings and the same information you receive along with weather forecasts, weather cams and a few new things thrown in. Barnes states it is also a place for businesses to advertise in getting great exposure with peak viewers nearing the 1 million mark with nearly 10 thousand downloads over the spring. The new channel will also feature school closings during winter months so you will always be prepared and have one source for all of your information. According to Barnes”Our idea is to give everyone one source for all things weather without all of the  other stuff involved in today’s society. Our hope is that we can continue to be that vital source of information and this upgrade (that has been worked on all summer) will benefit old and young alike” 

Be on the lookout for the new station debuting this upcoming week on Roku or FireTV devices near you.