Fire weather conditions are at dangerous levels throughout the work week.
SAN ANTONIO — The KENS 5 Weather Team has called for Weather Impact Alert Day for Monday through Wednesday, March 17-19, due to elevated fire danger. After a day off on Thursday, we’ll have another alert day Friday, March 21.
A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Wednesday from 5 AM to 9 PM for all of South-Central Texas.
Another breezy and dry day over drought-stricken south-central Texas sent fire weather conditions to critical levels Monday.
Firefighting efforts continued Monday at the Crabapple wildfire in Gillespie County, and a separate fire broke out in another part of Gillespie County on Monday evening.
Humidity values should improve as winds remain southerly for Tuesday, but another critical fire weather day is expected behind another dry front Wednesday.
The fire weather threat remains high as winds will stay gusty and conditions remain dry.
Thanks to a SE wind, we will see an uptick in dew points Tuesday, but wind speeds will be high tomorrow, 20-30 mph gusts.
A Tuesday night front will deliver a drop in dew points Wednesday and another day of gusty winds.
There will be a break in the winds Thursday, the first day of spring, but winds will again be gusty Friday.
The only chance of measurable rain is Sunday. And right now its only a 20% chance.
Aside from warmer than normal temperatures, rain chances remain low in our forecast into the end of March.
According to the National Weather Service, a lack of rain over the last couple of years has led to extreme drought.
Dry vegetation creates a tinder box for wildfires. Embers jump quickly with strong winds, and with extreme drought it doesn’t take much for a wildfire to spread.
Avoid outdoor burning, don’t drive over tall grass, put out unattended fires, and stay up to date on burn bans and daily forecasts to remain in the know about the current fire risk.
These are all things to remember as we head into a warm time of year and winds pick up in the spring season.
Spring officially starts on March 20!