‘Very high fire danger’: Strong winds, dry weather conditions threaten Kansas City region
The Kansas City area will face the threat of a “very high fire danger” as dry weather conditions and strong gusty winds could cause fires to spread rapidly Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
“Burning is highly discouraged!” the weather service said in a message on Twitter.
A red flag warning has been issued for counties south of U.S. 36 highway in northwestern Missouri, including the Kansas City area.
Relative humidity is expected to fall into the low to mid-20s in the afternoon. When combined with the already dry conditions and wind gusts between 35 and 40 mph, any fires that do ignite could spread quickly, the weather service said. Some areas could see wind gusts as high as 45 mph.
The majority of Kansas and Missouri are under drought conditions, ranging from moderate to exceptional drought. The Kansas City area is facing severe to extreme drought conditions, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.
Weather conditions will calm down Friday evening as winds become more northerly. Winds, however, will remain between 10 and 20 mph with gusts in the mid- to upper 20s. By 10 p.m., wind speeds will fall to around 5 to 10 mph, the weather service said.
Dry conditions are expected this weekend and into next week. A series of fronts will pass through the area, ushering in colder air. Temperatures will likely be in the 50s on Monday and the 40s on Tuesday. A widespread hard freeze is expected Wednesday morning as temperatures will likely fall into the lower to mid-20s for most of the area, the weather service said.
