LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – On this day in 1985, a cold front packing arctic air passed through the state of Arkansas. The front was responsible for a massive temperature drop with most locations seeing a change of at least 50 degrees.
In Little Rock, the temperature was 60 degrees around 3 p.m. At midnight, the temperature had plummeted to just 16 degrees. By 9 a.m. the next day, the temperature was a mere -2.
On the morning of January 20, 1985, most locations saw temperatures below zero.
-6 degrees in North Little Rock was the lowest ever recorded temperatures at the station.
Little Rock’s 62 degree temperature change remains the greatest 24-hour temperature change on record for the city.
The weather system that brought this arctic blast also came with strong winds and snowfall.
Winds made it feel more like -10 to -20 degrees in some parts of the state around midnight.
About two to six inches of snow also fell, with the higher snowfall totals in north central and northeast Arkansas.
