WASHINGTON, DC — Millions of people across the Southwest are under red flag warnings as dangerous fire weather stretches through the end of the workweek. Forecasters say the combination of warmer-than-normal temperatures, very low humidity and gusty winds is creating conditions that can quickly turn a spark into a fast-moving wildfire.
Officials said more than 4.5 million people were covered by the warnings beginning Wednesday and continuing into Thursday and Friday. The threat is being driven by humidity levels around 10% to 15% and wind gusts that may reach 25 to 40 mph in many areas, with some locations facing even stronger bursts.
New Mexico faces the highest level of fire danger
New Mexico is seeing the most severe conditions, including portions of the state such as Albuquerque. Forecasters placed those areas under an extreme threat, the highest level used by the National Weather Service for fire weather.
In the extreme-risk zone, wind gusts could climb to 60 mph on Thursday while humidity may fall between 5% and 10%. The Weather Service says that level of warning indicates a threat to life and property from existing or potential wildfires because of weather and fuel conditions.
The dangerous setup means fires that start in the state could spread quickly and become harder to contain. Officials said the extreme threat is tied to the dry atmosphere, strong winds and available fuel across the region.
Critical fire weather stretches into Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma
Parts of eastern Arizona and New Mexico are under a critical fire risk, the second-highest category, with cities and communities including Tucson, Catalina Foothills, Las Cruces and Roswell included in the warning area. Those conditions are expected to intensify as Thursday goes on.
Forecasters said most of New Mexico, western Texas, southeastern Colorado and the Oklahoma Panhandle will also be under a critical threat. The dry and windy pattern is expected to continue pushing wildfire danger upward across those areas.
While the highest-risk zone is centered in New Mexico, the broader setup shows how widespread the fire weather has become. The same ingredients are affecting several states at once, keeping a large population on alert for rapidly changing conditions.
Conditions should improve by the weekend but risk may linger
The intense fire weather is expected to ease as the weekend approaches, though parts of New Mexico and other Southwest locations could stay in a critical wildfire threat through Friday. That means the danger will not disappear quickly even if conditions start to moderate.
Forecasters are watching for changes in wind, humidity and temperature that could reduce the risk. Until then, the dry air and strong gusts remain a concern for fire crews and communities across the region.
Officials have not said that any major wildfire is already driving the alerts, but the warnings are meant to limit the chance that new fires will spread under favorable burning conditions. The setup remains a serious concern for areas already experiencing dry fuels and strong wind.
A separate storm system is bringing severe weather to the central U.S.
At the same time, another storm system is moving across the central United States and is expected to bring more rain and severe weather beginning Thursday and lasting through the weekend. The hazards are different from the fire danger in the Southwest, but they are unfolding during the same stretch of unsettled weather.
About 5 million people are under a slight risk for severe weather on Thursday, including parts of eastern Nebraska, Iowa, southern Minnesota and northern Missouri. Forecasters say hail, damaging winds and even possible tornadoes could accompany the storms.
Isolated severe storms could affect Omaha, Nebraska, as well as Davenport, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids in Iowa Thursday afternoon. The risk is expected to spread on Friday, reaching areas from north Texas through Michigan.
What the forecast means for communities across the region
The warnings highlight how quickly weather can change from one part of the country to another, with one system raising wildfire danger in the Southwest while another threatens severe storms farther east. For residents, that means staying alert to local forecasts and watching for updated watches and warnings from weather officials.
In the Southwest, the main concern is ignition and rapid fire growth in hot, dry and windy conditions. In the central U.S., the focus is on thunderstorms that could produce large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.
Both systems show the reach of a broad weather pattern affecting multiple states at once. Forecasters say the Southwest should begin to see relief heading into the weekend, but not before another round of difficult fire weather passes through the region.
