News and opinion about wildland fire
Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for enhanced wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, and Arizona.
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The Red Flag Warning map above was current as of 10 a.m. MT on Monday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.
Today the Predictive Services section at the National Interagency Fire Center issued their Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for June through September, 2013. The above normal wildfire potential across California in June is predicted to spread during July, August, and September into all of Oregon and parts of Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and Montana, while the fire danger in the southwest will begin decreasing in July as the area enters their monsoon season.
With the extremely low moisture content in California’s live vegetation expected to get even lower throughout the summer, firefighters and property owners in the state should prepare for one of the busiest fire seasons on record, if the predictions are correct for the drought to continue.
There will not be enough firefighters to protect every house when fires move into an urban interface, so homeowners need to realize their responsibility to make their property fire safe.
Below is the Executive Summary from the document:
Continue reading “Wildfire potential, June through September, 2013”
Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for enhanced wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in Alaska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico.
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The Red Flag Warning map above was current as of 9:20 a.m. MT on Monday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.
Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for enhanced wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico.
Miraculously, Utah and northwest New Mexico escaped the extreme fire weather.
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The Red Flag Warning map above was current as of 8:50 a.m. MT on Thursday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.
NOAA released their latest Drought Monitor today, with data current through May 14.
The Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for May through August released May 1 can be found HERE.
Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for enhanced wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Florida.
For South Dakota, the NWS in their 3:03 a.m. MT forecast today, described the conditions in their usual “screaming”, all-caps style. (I retain the hope that the NWS will one day outgrow the use of all-caps, which I think must be left over from the use of teletype machines, which were first patented in 1846.)
AFFECTED AREA…IN SOUTH DAKOTA…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 273. WINDS…SOUTH WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE DAY. FOR TUESDAY…WEST 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE.
…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONE 273…
…FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONE 273.
And for Tuesday:
A POTENT COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION TUESDAY MORNING…BRINGING GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS TO THE PLAINS OF NORTHWESTERN AND WEST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ACROSS FAR NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA WHERE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED…WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 60 MPH POSSIBLE.
THE GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER INDEX IS EXPECTED TO BE IN THE EXTREME CATEGORY ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA ON TUESDAY.
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The Red Flag Warning map above was current as of 8:40 a.m. MT on Monday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.
