The National Weather Service is warning there’s an elevated fire risk in much of Iowa due to warm temperatures, strong southwest winds and dry ground conditions.
Alexis Jimenez, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in suburban Des Moines, says low relative humidity levels are a factor, too. “This late in the fall we have a lot of dry grass. Obviously the crops are dried out in any remaining fields, “Jimenez says. “It doesn’t take much for a fire to spread.”
The National Weather Service has released a Grassland Fire Danger Index map for today that shows there’s an elevated risk of field fires in the entire state, with a few areas of “extreme” fire risk in northwest Iowa and much of the rest of the state in the “very high” category. “The main takeaway for today is just use caution if you’re outside. If you’re still harvesting…that equipment can easily spark a fire,” Jimenez says. “…Burning today is heavily discouraged, especially in portions of northern Iowa.”
Conditions across the state are teetering on the criteria for a “red flag warning” from the National Weather Service, according to Jimenez.