Summer Heat Arrives In Arkansas

By Chuck Bartels The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK - The mild spring that brought plenty of rain and even a late freeze has given way to summer heat in Arkansas. The heat index in central Arkansas on Tuesday neared 100 degrees and folks should expect high temperatures to regularly be in the low to mid 90s for the rest of July and into August, said meteorologist Chuck Rickard of the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock. With the arrival of high temperatures, officials are urging residents to be mindful of the symptoms of heat stress and to remember that the heat can be deadly. Ten people died in Arkansas from heat-related causes last year, and the state is averaging 9.3 deaths per year over the past decade, Arkansas Health Department spokesman Ed Barham said. In 1980, during a merciless heat wave, 153 Arkansans... [read full story]