Warm winds spark extreme fire threat from Arizona to Kansas

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

March 22,2016; 10:52PM,EDT

 

 

An elevated fire risk will threaten a portion of the southwestern and south-central United States on Tuesday.
"The combination of high winds, extremely low humidity and plenty of warmth will create an extreme fire threat from eastern Arizona to western Texas and central Kansas," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Zapolski said.

Cities under the elevated fire threat include Tucson, Arizona; Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Dodge City, Kansas; and Amarillo, Lubbock and El Paso, Texas.
"Winds could gusts as high as 60 mph in these areas," Zapolski added.
Improperly discarded matches or cigarettes could easily spark a fire due to the dry undergrowth and extremely dry air.
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Any fires that ignite could rapidly spread due to the high winds. Even if there is not a fire nearby, haze and smoke can be carried hundreds of miles away.
The elevated fire threat is expected to shift farther eastward on Wednesday. Areas from western New Mexico to eastern Kansas and Oklahoma will need to remain on guard for rapidly spreading wildfires.
Once the storm that is generating these high winds shifts farther north and east, cooler air and calmer winds will move into the region on Thursday, lowering the fire risk through the end of the week.