SPC Day 2 Fire Weather Outlook
SPC Day 2 Fire Weather Outlook
Day 2 Fire Weather Outlook NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 0133 PM CST Mon Mar 03 2025 Valid 041200Z - 051200Z ...EXTREMELY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY.... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.... ...Dangerous, potentially historic, fire-weather conditions are likely over portions of the Edwards Plateau and south Texas Plain Tuesday... As the strong upper trough and intense 100-120 kt mid-level jet streak move eastward over the southern Plains, a deep surface cyclone will continue to rapidly intensify as it moves over eastern KS/OK. Trailing the surface low, a sharp dryline will also mix eastward with very dry surface conditions likely behind it. Afternoon RH values will quickly decrease with minimum values of 7-15% as temperatures warm into the 60s and 70s F. The dry and well-mixed boundary layer will intersect with very strong wind fields (1-4 km agl winds of 50-90 kt) south of the intense cyclone bringing very strong flow to the surface. Widespread sustained west/northwesterly winds of 30-40 mph are expected, with gusts of 50-60 mph possible across much of south-central TX. The potentially historic wind/RH overlap will support widespread critical and extremely critical fire-weather conditions over very dry and heavy fuels loads. ERC and 10 hr fuel moisture values above the 90th and below the 10th percentiles respectively will undergo further drying to near record levels through the day as winds increase. The combination of extreme weather and very receptive fuels will likely support very high-volume initial attack, extreme rates of spread, and uncontrollable fire behavior. Intense fire-weather conditions will continue through Tuesday afternoon and begin to weaken Tuesday evening and overnight as an advancing Pacific front supports higher humidity recoveries and weaker winds. A secondary upper jet feature will rotate south over the northern TX Panhandle and western OK later in the afternoon and evening. As the surface low departs, a strong pressure gradient will allow several hours of very strong northwesterly winds of 30-40 mph to develop behind the low. Strong winds will overspread areas that have had and are likely to receive some additional wetting rainfall. However, the potential for 40-60 mph gusts and rapidly decreasing humidity, post-dryline, Tuesday afternoon may support brief elevated to near-critical fire-weather concerns. The primary change for the 20z update was to include a category 3 Extremely Critical area over the Big Bend and eastern Edwards Plateau to the I-35 corridor in south-central TX. Additional modifications were made to areas expected to see significant precipitation from overnight storms over north TX and central OK. Elevated fire-weather conditions are also possible over parts of the central Appalachians. See the prior outlook for more information. ..Lyons.. 03/03/2025 .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 0159 AM CST Mon Mar 03 2025/ ...Synopsis... A mid-level trough will traverse the Mississippi Valley, supporting the eastward progression of a strong surface low from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley tomorrow (Tuesday). A dryline will sweep eastward across the southern Plains, promoting wildfire-spread potential. Ahead of the surface low, increasing southerly flow will advect an initially dry airmass over the central Appalachians, supporting some potential for wildfire-spread in this region as well. ...Southeast New Mexico into southern Texas... As the dryline advances eastward across central Texas tomorrow afternoon, the combination of strong isallobaric and downslope flow will support up to 30 mph sustained westerly surface winds across much of the southern High Plains into central Texas. RH should dip to 15-25 percent across the Texas Panhandle into northern Texas, with RH dropping to 10 percent in parts of southern Texas. Given drying fuels across the region, widespread Elevated/Critical highlights have been introduced. A squall line is expected to develop across portions of Oklahoma into northern Texas late Monday night into Tuesday morning, potentially dampening fuels. As such, fire weather highlights in these areas may need to be removed if appreciable rainfall accumulations are realized. ...Portions of the central Appalachians... By afternoon peak heating, RH may dip to 30-35 percent across portions of northeast Tennessee into southern West Virginia, as an initially dry airmass is shunted northward with the approach of a surface cyclone and accompanying upper trough. Guidance consensus suggests that boundary-layer flow will increase during the afternoon, with 15 mph sustained southerly surface winds potentially coinciding with the lower RH for a few hours. Given that such conditions will overspread dry fuels, Elevated highlights are warranted. ...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov/fire for graphic product... Read more
Day 2 Fire Weather Outlook NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 0133 PM CST Mon Mar 03 2025 Valid 041200Z - 051200Z ...EXTREMELY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY.... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.... ...Dangerous, potentially historic, fire-weather conditions are likely over portions of the Edwards Plateau and south Texas Plain Tuesday... As the strong upper trough and intense 100-120 kt mid-level jet streak move eastward over the southern Plains, a deep surface cyclone will continue to rapidly intensify as it moves over eastern KS/OK. Trailing the surface low, a sharp dryline will also mix eastward with very dry surface conditions likely behind it. Afternoon RH values will quickly decrease with minimum values of 7-15% as temperatures warm into the 60s and 70s F. The dry and well-mixed boundary layer will intersect with very strong wind fields (1-4 km agl winds of 50-90 kt) south of the intense cyclone bringing very strong flow to the surface. Widespread sustained west/northwesterly winds of 30-40 mph are expected, with gusts of 50-60 mph possible across much of south-central TX. The potentially historic wind/RH overlap will support widespread critical and extremely critical fire-weather conditions over very dry and heavy fuels loads. ERC and 10 hr fuel moisture values above the 90th and below the 10th percentiles respectively will undergo further drying to near record levels through the day as winds increase. The combination of extreme weather and very receptive fuels will likely support very high-volume initial attack, extreme rates of spread, and uncontrollable fire behavior. Intense fire-weather conditions will continue through Tuesday afternoon and begin to weaken Tuesday evening and overnight as an advancing Pacific front supports higher humidity recoveries and weaker winds. A secondary upper jet feature will rotate south over the northern TX Panhandle and western OK later in the afternoon and evening. As the surface low departs, a strong pressure gradient will allow several hours of very strong northwesterly winds of 30-40 mph to develop behind the low. Strong winds will overspread areas that have had and are likely to receive some additional wetting rainfall. However, the potential for 40-60 mph gusts and rapidly decreasing humidity, post-dryline, Tuesday afternoon may support brief elevated to near-critical fire-weather concerns. The primary change for the 20z update was to include a category 3 Extremely Critical area over the Big Bend and eastern Edwards Plateau to the I-35 corridor in south-central TX. Additional modifications were made to areas expected to see significant precipitation from overnight storms over north TX and central OK. Elevated fire-weather conditions are also possible over parts of the central Appalachians. See the prior outlook for more information. ..Lyons.. 03/03/2025 .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 0159 AM CST Mon Mar 03 2025/ ...Synopsis... A mid-level trough will traverse the Mississippi Valley, supporting the eastward progression of a strong surface low from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley tomorrow (Tuesday). A dryline will sweep eastward across the southern Plains, promoting wildfire-spread potential. Ahead of the surface low, increasing southerly flow will advect an initially dry airmass over the central Appalachians, supporting some potential for wildfire-spread in this region as well. ...Southeast New Mexico into southern Texas... As the dryline advances eastward across central Texas tomorrow afternoon, the combination of strong isallobaric and downslope flow will support up to 30 mph sustained westerly surface winds across much of the southern High Plains into central Texas. RH should dip to 15-25 percent across the Texas Panhandle into northern Texas, with RH dropping to 10 percent in parts of southern Texas. Given drying fuels across the region, widespread Elevated/Critical highlights have been introduced. A squall line is expected to develop across portions of Oklahoma into northern Texas late Monday night into Tuesday morning, potentially dampening fuels. As such, fire weather highlights in these areas may need to be removed if appreciable rainfall accumulations are realized. ...Portions of the central Appalachians... By afternoon peak heating, RH may dip to 30-35 percent across portions of northeast Tennessee into southern West Virginia, as an initially dry airmass is shunted northward with the approach of a surface cyclone and accompanying upper trough. Guidance consensus suggests that boundary-layer flow will increase during the afternoon, with 15 mph sustained southerly surface winds potentially coinciding with the lower RH for a few hours. Given that such conditions will overspread dry fuels, Elevated highlights are warranted. ...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov/fire for graphic product... Read more