Wildlife Hazard Soars in Midwest

There is a critical risk of wildfires on Wednesday across the Central and Northern Plains as favorable weather hits the region, the National Weather Service (NWS) has warned.
Strong winds coupled with low humidity prompted the NWS’s Storm Prediction Center to raise the concern level to “critical” for southern South Dakota, much of Nebraska and northern Kansas. Central Nevada into western Utah is also expected to have “elevated” fire weather.
Critical fire weather forecasts are issued when sustained winds above 20 miles per hour meet low humidity and temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees F. Dry fuels on the ground can easily be ignited when dry thunderstorms bring lighting to high-risk areas, according to the NWS.
“A strong (sub 1,000 mb) surface cyclone will develop across eastern Montana on Monday, with strong winds expected across much of the central and northern Plains,” the NWS said in its forecast.
“This is due to the tight pressure gradient between this surface low and the strong area of high pressure centered over the Tennessee Valley. The strongest winds are expected from west-central Kansas to southern South Dakota, where sustained winds of 25 to 30 mph are possible.”
The critical fire weather areas are determined based on where those conditions overlap with humidity as low as 20 percent.
“Fires can start quickly on these types of days; even just a little spark on the ground can start spreading quickly,” NWS meteorologist Michaela Wood previously told Newsweek.
The fire weather threat is expected to continue into Thursday in some areas, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from the NWS Hastings office.
“We have a lot of plants that will turn green in the summer, and then they’ll kind of dry out in the fall. So now we have a lot of dry fuel across the area,” Wood, who is based in Nebraska, said.
“The other thing is that our relative humidity is low, so the air is very dry. That’s going to be met with some strong, dusty winds, and when you have all of that coming together, small fires can get out of control quickly.”
The NWS also highlighted a risk of fire weather for the Gulf Coast, stating, “Some dry and breezy offshore flow is possible across portions of the Gulf Coast Wednesday, with relative humidity of 20 to 30 percent and surface winds of 10 to 15 mph.
“The strongest winds are currently only forecast near the coast, where fuels are not as receptive. The only exception is across central Louisiana, where some stronger winds are possible.”
The warnings from the NWS come as the nation remains at preparedness Level 5 for wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Active fires across the U.S. currently cover 545,991 acres, including the largely uncontained Elk Fire in Wyoming, and the Red Rock and Garden Fires in Idaho.
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