The above graphic details the freeze records for Fort Smith. I used Fort Smith record as a consistent base. So many of these late spring freezes can vary greatly over just short distance. Geography, latitude, longitude, and cloud cover can cause temperatures to vary across a small area. Better records for this type of wether is kept for Fort Smith.
Below you can see how much the cold front dropped temperatures across the state.
These growing season records are broken down into 3 categories: Frost (32°F), Hard Freeze (28°F), and Killing Freeze (24°F).
The latest frost occurred on April 17th in 1951 and 1921. The latest hard freeze occurred on April 15th 1983. Record for the killing freeze was April 8th , 2007.
Temps varied across the county. It appears as if the eastern side got a bit colder than the western side. The hills in the north were a few degrees cooler than the valley. I think we stayed a few degrees above the killing freeze, but we were below freezing for a prolonged time.
When the official word comes down from the NWS we will have broken our record for the latest freeze.
Some unprotected, more tender vegetation, will suffer damage.
