Extremely dry or cold winters find many ducks seeking out a sure source of water like the Arkansas River. Photo by Cathy & Gordon Illg.

When in doubt, get the riverboat out!

When Mother Nature throws Arkansas duck hunters a curveball with hot and dry weather, or Old Man Winter drops in for an extended stay, there's only one place that wily waterfowlers know they can go to bag a diversity of ducks -- the Arkansas River.

In normal seasons, most of Arkansas' waterfowling population gives little thought to tossing out a line of decoys in the river that bisects Arkansas from northwest to southeast, running roughly 290 miles through the state that shares its name.

But, there's a saying about the Natural State's climatological conditions that's been thrown around for decades: “If you don't like the weather, just stick around five minutes -- it'll change.”

You can eye statistics from the National Weather Service's North Little Rock office as proof of just how variable Arkansas' winters, and their accompanying duck seasons, can be.

TINDERBOX TIMES
For instance, at one end of the spectrum, consider that nine of the top 10 warmest years on record in Arkansas, based on average high temperatures, occurred between 1998 and 2006.

Those warm years translate into a lack of precipitation during the winter months, and even much of the remainder of the year. Such was the case with the drought period that began in May 2005 and lasted into 2006. Much of the state ran 25 to 50 percent below normal in rainfall, meaning many areas received 12-18 inches less precipitation than usual. In fact, 2005 went into the books as one of the driest on record for the state.

Little or no rain generally does not bode well for duck hunting. Unless you have a deep slough, reservoir or lake, or you have access to a field and the deep pockets needed to pump water on that ground, you may end up scanning the skies and pray for the proverbial five minutes to pass.

NEXT STOP, NORTH POLE
Step back another decade or so and you'll find six of Arkansas' 10 coolest years on record, again based on average high temperatures. These cooler-than-normal years were often accompanied by average to above-average precipitation.

So duck season rolls around and the Arctic Express makes repeated visits, meets with moisture bubbling up from the Gulf of Mexico, and drops a mix of wintry precipitation on the state. Sometimes, however, the cold just won't go away.

Such was the case in December 1983. Weather reports from Dec. 18-31 detail how freezing rain, light snow and sleet fell across Arkansas repeatedly. High temperatures hovered between the single digits and the teens, and wind chills hit 30 to 40 degrees below zero. Ice formed even on the Arkansas River.

When those ice-in-your-beard, chilled-to-the-bone periods last for a week or so, virtually every farm reservoir, greentree stand of timber or agriculture field becomes locked in ice. As with a hot, dry winter, you can wait around another five minutes and tell stories of yesteryears down at the barbershop.

Then again, you could dust off your camo uniform, step up to the plate and hit a grand slam.