Iowans are warned not to do any open burning today, and farmers need to use caution in the fields with their hot harvest equipment, as 88 of the state’s 99 counties are under a Red Flag Warning.
National Weather Service meteorologist Alexis Jimenez says the fire danger is very high to extreme.
“Because of again, those dry conditions with relative humidity values only around 20%,” Jimenez says, “and then some really windy conditions with winds up to 40 to 45 miles per hour possible across western Iowa today.”
In most areas, the warning runs through 7 o’clock tonight, though Jimenez says it could be renewed tomorrow, as there’s virtually no rain in the forecast.
“Friday is looking like another pretty breezy day, especially across northern and western Iowa,” she says, “and then as we get into Saturday, we could start seeing some wind taper down a little bit.”
The extended outlook shows a chance of showers Monday night.
Eleven counties in eastern Iowa are not under today’s warning. The state fire marshal’s office has burn bans posted for 58 counties.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)