Red flag warning issued for Kansas City; avoid outdoor burning
The Kansas City area faces a high fire risk Wednesday as strong winds and above average temperatures are expected, said FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter.
“Later on today, it is going to be very windy,” said Ritter, who provides weather updates to The Star. “We have a wind advisory that will be in place through 6 p.m.”
A red flag warning has also been issued for eastern Kansas and most of western Missouri near the state line, including the Kansas City metro area.
“Bottom line: avoid outdoor burning and know it’s going to be warm and windy today,” she said.
The National Weather Service in Kansas City said the combination of strong southwest winds, low humidity, warm temperatures and areas of drier vegetation is creating critical fire weather conditions that will allow any fires that develop to spread rapidly.
Afternoon highs will be in the low 70s, which is well above the average high of 52 degrees for this time of year in the Kansas City area.
“As we look ahead to the extended forecast, it does look like things are going get a little bit different, certainly a lot colder heading into our weekend,” she said.
Highs on Saturday are expected in the low 50s only reach the upper 40s on Sunday and Monday.
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The Star produced this weather update in partnership with the local FOX4 television station. The station’s meteorologists create forecast videos multiple times a day for the newspaper to include in its weather reports.
