Red Flag Warning Issued for Much of Wyoming, Effective Until 10 P.M.

The National Weather Service in Cheyenne has issued a Red Flag Warning effective until 10 p.m. today.

Affected areas include the North Laramie Range, South Laramie Range, Medicine Bow National Forest, Thunder Basin National Grassland, Niobrara County, Lower Elevations of Converse County, Platte County, Goshen County, Central and Eastern Laramie County, and Platte County.

Low humidity combined with west to southwest winds gusting from 25 mph to 35 mph create conditions that lead to extreme fire danger.

The following is the warning issued by the National Weather Service:

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 301...302...304...306...309 AND 310.

.VERY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL RETURN TO MUCH OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING TODAY. WIDESPREAD HUMIDITY VALUES BELOW 15 PERCENT AND WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTING 25 TO 35 MPH OR HIGHER ARE EXPECTED AND WILL LEAD TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR. WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET ON FRIDAY WITH SLOW HUMIDITY RECOVERIES TONIGHT. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS COULD OCCUR AGAIN SATURDAY FOR FWZ 303 AND 306.

...RED FLAG WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES FOR FIRE

WEATHER ZONES 301...302...309 AND 310...

* WIND...WEST-TO-SOUTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS 25 TO 35 MPH. OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 40 MPH NEAR THE MOUNTAINS.

* HUMIDITY...8 TO 12 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY. OUTDOOR BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY.  A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES MAY LEAD TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.