Red Flag Warning Issued for Central and Southwest Minnesota Counties

Source: NOAA · Central and Southwest Minnesota

This alert is no longer in effect.

NOAA issued it on April 28, 2026, 3 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).

Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.

A Red Flag Warning is in effect for multiple counties in central and southwest Minnesota due to high winds and low humidity, increasing fire spread risks from noon to 8 PM CDT on April 22, 2026.

Read this weather record in 30 seconds

Record type
Red Flag Warning
Affected area
Central and Southwest Minnesota
Issued
April 28, 2026
Issuing authority
NWS Twin Cities

Fire-weather notices describe conditions that can support rapid fire spread; they do not report that a fire is present. Check local emergency sources for any active incident.

Record status: historical. It was issued 3 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Central and Southwest Minnesota.

Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Twin Cities has issued a Red Flag Warning, effective from noon to 8 PM CDT on April 22, 2026. This alert is categorized as severe and is issued by NWS Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN.

Affected Areas
The warning affects the following counties in Minnesota: Stevens, Pope, Lac Qui Parle, Swift, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Yellow Medicine, Renville, McLeod, Sibley, Redwood, Brown, Nicollet, Watonwan, Blue Earth, Martin, and Faribault. These areas are in portions of central, south central, southwest, and west central Minnesota.

What You Should Do
Residents and officials in the affected areas should prepare for potential fire hazards. Advise appropriate officials or fire crews in the field of this warning, and outdoor burning is not recommended due to the risk of rapid fire spread.

Expected Conditions
Conditions include south winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph and relative humidity around 23 percent, which could lead to any fires spreading rapidly.

Timeline
The alert is effective from April 22, 2026, at 12:00 PM CDT and ends at 8:00 PM CDT on the same day. It was issued on April 21, 2026, at 12:12 PM CDT.

Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗

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Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8

Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this NWS weather alert: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this NWS weather alert.

What is this NWS weather alert about?
A Red Flag Warning is in effect for multiple counties in central and southwest Minnesota due to high winds and low humidity, increasing fire spread risks from noon to 8 PM CDT on April 22, 2026.
Which agency issued this alert?
This alert was issued by NOAA. The original notice is available at the source link at the bottom of this article.
How severe is this alert?
This alert is classified as "high" severity. Take precautions and monitor for updates.
What area is affected?
This alert affects Central and Southwest Minnesota. Check with NOAA for the most current geographic scope.
Where can I find more Weather Alerts updates?
Browse the full Weather Alerts feed on Areazine at areazine.com/weather/ for the latest updates from NOAA and other agencies.