Life and Wildlife along the Little Buffalo River

Miserably cold March, so far !!!

After on full year with the Davis Weather Station and a member of Weather Underground, they have found that I have one of the coldest reporting stations in all of Arkansas. I not only have the coldest year-round low temperatures but some of the hottest readings in the summer. The Arkansas town of Deer is in the center point of this micro-climate. See temperature maps with 1F increments in morning lows:

My home is located in the Murray Valley, south of the Little Buffalo River at about 1,200 feet altitude. I am surrounded by mountains but the home is actually on a plateau (bench) about 250 feet above the river. The mountains around my home and the Davis Weather Station, are all 1,200 – 1,400 feet above my gauge. In the  mornings all year around, I am shaded by the shadow of Henderson Mountain until mid-morning (later in the winter). The winter’s prevailing NW winds have a straight shot at my place on a true downslope (very cold) flow. Reynolds mountain is N and NW of the gauge and Beckham Hollow (holds Beckham Cave) is due west with Shiloh Mountain directly behind. On the other side of Shiloh Mountain is Boxley, AR. and Cave Mountain (Upper Buffalo Wilderness); also a fairly cold area. At Beckham Creek, the Little Buffalo River turns south and encircles Taylor Mountain; which lies south of the gauge.

NW Arkansas has always been the cool spot in Arkansas, with a corresponding drop in on the USDA Planting Zone maps; placing it in the same zone a between Joplin and Kansas City, MO. See maps.

I have high humidity and fog in the summers and fall about half the mornings of the week. It lifts by 8 AM to 8:30 AM most mornings and leads to a fairly quick warm up. However, the low has already been reached near dawn and directly after. The fog forms on the Little Buffalo River and moves southeast towards Taylor Mountain.

My gauged temperatures typically run about 10F below the readings at Harrison to the NE on the other side of the Boston Mountains. This is wonderful in the summer.

It is extremely pleasant every morning May-August until 8-9 AM; sometimes 10:00 AM. A great time to do yard or garden work ! I love the climate; except the 110F summer readings.