Despite the recent rain and wet conditions throughout the weekend, the Burn Ban in Ouachita County remains in effect.
Although the county did receive some rain on Halloween, County Judge Robert McAdoo said last week, he would not be lifting the burn ban until we had received at least 8 inches of rain.
Currently, The National Weather Service is predicting rainfall for the area over the next few days. The amount of rainfall predicted however, does not show indication it will be enough to meet with the County Judge's 8 inch requirement.
For Monday, November 4, the National Weather Service shows a prediction of around .65 inches for the day. With a prediction of around .85 inches on Tuesday, November 5.
The forecast for the week:
- Monday shows a 70% chance of rain during the day, with the chance increasing to 90% that evening. The average rainfall is listed as being 1/10 of an inch. The temperatures are listed as having highs in the low 80s with wind of 10-15 mph and gust of up to 25 mph during the day and dropping to 5-10 mph with gust of 20 mph that evening.
- Tuesday's forecast is predicting thunderstorms and a 90% chance of rain in the morning. The highs for the day are listed as being around 70 degrees with southwest winds of around 5 mph. The evening drops to showing lows in the mid 50s with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms and a 40% chance of rain.
- Wednesday moves towards lower chances of rain with a 30% chance of rain during the day and a 50% chance of rain for the evening. The highs are predicted to be in the lower 70s during the day and the lows for the evening are listed as being in the lower 50s.
The map from the Arkansas Forestry Division shows Ouachita County as having dropped from a high danger of wildfires to a moderate danger and neighboring Nevada, Dallas, Cleveland and Calhoun Counties have all lifted their burn bans.
Fires have continued to be reported across the county to emergency services with many of the reports being illegal burns. It is currently unknown if any citations have been issued in connection with these calls.