Updated at 4:21 p.m. CDT Sept, 27, 2022
It turns out that one of the reasons for the elevated fire dangers and the strong north winds in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama is the counter-clockwise rotation around Hurricane Ian. This wind forecast for noon CDT on Wednesday shows the northerly flow in those states which is similar to the winds on Tuesday, but the speeds will be higher Wednesday.
The colors on the map represent wind speed, not precipitation. The legend for wind speed is at bottom-right (in knots).
Updated at 4 p.m. CDT Sept, 27, 2022
The National Weather Service has modified this fire weather forecast repeatedly on Tuesday afternoon for the Central Gulf Coast vicinity, possibly due to complications caused by Hurricane Ian which is headed to the west side of Florida near Tampa.
The map above was current Tuesday at 4 p.m. CDT. There will be some Red Flag Warnings in the area on Wednesday, but we’ll wait until Wednesday morning to post the map, after the forecast settles a bit.
Low humidity and strong wind predicted on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Central Gulf Coast vicinity brings elevated fire danger to areas of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect Tuesday afternoon for southwest Alabama and southeast Mississippi.
Weather forecasters expect the relative humidity will be in the low 20s across much of the area or even the high teens near the Gulf Coast. Afternoon wind gusts will be greater than 20 mph.
The forecast for Wednesday is for the critical fire weather to expand further into Alabama, the Florida panhandle, and Georgia.
Golly, I wonder if a hurricane will change that forecast.
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/refresh/AL092022_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind+png/161142_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png
Thanks for the extra details, Bill. I hope clouds of locusts aren’t next. ?