A Red Flag Warning has been issued for today by the National Weather Service:
URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
450 AM EDT SUN OCT 10 2010…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON…
.UNSEASONABLY WARM WEATHER…VERY DRY AIR IN PLACE AND DRY 10 HOUR FUELS WILL SUPPORT DANGEROUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON…AS WINDS INCREASE UP TO 20 MPH. TEMPERATURES INTO THE MID AND UPPER 80S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S WILL SUPPORT MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES DOWN TO 20 PERCENT…WITH SOME AREAS POSSIBLY FALLING INTO THE UPPER TEENS. IN ADDITION…20 FOOT WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 MPH THIS AFTERNOON…SUPPORTING AN INCREASED THEREAT FOR FAST SPREADING GRASS FIRES. C CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE THIS EVENING AS TEMPERATURES COOL AND RELATIVE HUMIDITIES RISE.
[…] …RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING.
TEMPERATURES INTO THE MID AND UPPER 80S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S WILL SUPPORT MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES DOWN TO 20 PERCENT THIS AFTERNOON…WITH SOME AREAS POSSIBLY FALLING INTO THE UPPER TEENS. THE LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES COMBINED WITH DRY FUELS AND WIND SPEEDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WILL SUPPORT RAPID GROWTH OF ANY GRASS FIRES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.