Fire Weather Risk for Parts of the High Plains Saturday

We have been talking about heavy snow and heavy rain in the forecast for the Midwest and Mississippi Valley, but areas that haven't seen any precipitation over the past several months will be dealing with a high fire weather risk today.  This risk is located over the Central and Southern High Plains.

FIRE WEATHER OUTLOOK

Critical and elevated fire weather risks today for parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas.  These are areas that are dealing with strong drought conditions with the lack of measurable precipitation so far this year. Fire weather alerts are in effect within the outlook including red flag warnings for Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Here is a look at the criteria for a red flag warning.

Today's Forecast

Warm temperatures and strong winds in the forecast for the region today and when you factor in all the available fuel from the drought conditions...any fire that starts will spread quickly.  The strong winds will also make containment very difficult for firefighters.  If you are going to be outdoors today any of these areas, please be extra cautious with any outdoor flames or sparks.   Meteorologist Patrick Crawford