Red Flag Warnings have been issued for areas of the Great Plains on April 2, including sections of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
Very low relative humidity and strong winds are predicted. Most of the warnings expire Friday evening.
The Hot, Dry, Windy Index for April 2 shows elevated wildfire danger for many areas in the western U.S. This is a fairly new tool for fire managers, described as being very simple and only considers the atmospheric factors of heat, moisture, and wind. To be more precise, it is a multiplication of the maximum wind speed and maximum vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in the lowest 50 or so millibars in the atmosphere. It does not consider fuel moisture.
(Red Flag Warnings can be modified throughout the day as NWS offices around the country update and revise their weather forecasts.)
https://www.wibw.com/2021/04/02/100-200-acre-grass-fire-currently-blazing-in-shawnee-county/