Arkansas Annual Temperatures and Records

City

Avg High Temp

Avg Low Temp 

Avg Annual Temp

 Avg # days => 90F Avg # days <= 32F  Record High Temp Record Low Temp
Ft Smith 73 49 61 77 77 111 -10
Little Rock 73 51 62 73 57 112 -5
Fayetteville 68 47 58 47 102 110 -15
Jonesboro 73 50 61 80 64 116 -18
  • Arkansas annual average - 60.42 degrees, 9th warmest state in the U.S.
  • Record Hottest year in Arkansas - 1921 / Avg temperature 63.71 degrees
  • Record Coldest year in Arkansas - 1979 / Avg temperature 58.29 degrees
  • Arkansas average Summer temperature (June, July, August)  78.8 F degrees, 6th warmest U.S. summer state
  • Arkansas average Winter temperature (December, January, February)  41.5 F degrees, 39th coldest U.S. winter state

Arkansas Temperature Records 

  • Hottest temperature ever recorded: 120 F, Ozark, northwest Arkansas, 8/10/1936
  • Coldest temperature ever recorded: -29 F, Pond, northeast Arkansas, 2/13/1905
  • Hottest city ranked by highest average annual temperature: Texarkana, southwest Arkansas, 64.6 F
  • Coldest city ranked by lowest average annual temperature: Mammoth Spring, northern Arkansas, 56.7 F
  • Little Rock, Arkansas endured its hottest summer ever in 2010, with an average temperature from 
    June - August of 85.8 F (average is 80.7). The city broke the all-time record for most consecutive
    days equal to or above 90 degrees with 60 days, beating the previous record of 57 set in 1980. 117 total
    days equal to or above 90 F from June - August was also an all-time record. 
  • During the summer of 1936, The United States endured its worst heat wave on record. Ozark, Arkansas
    exceeded 100 F every day from August 3 - 23.

Average temperatures show little variation over the state of Arkansas. Temperatures vary more from northwest to southeast in the winter rather than in the summer. Maximum temperatures exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (° F) at times, especially during July and August and particularly at valley stations in the highlands. The winters are short, but cold periods do occur. In the northern part of the State, temperatures of 0° F or lower occasionally occur in January and February and 0 F has also been recorded along the southern border. 

 

Arkansas precipitation averages and extremes, precipitation and temperature data for all U.S. states and Top 10 U.S. climate extremes
Data source: National Climatic Data Center