Red Flag Warning Issued for Central Illinois Counties Through Friday Evening
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 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.
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for several Central Illinois counties due to strong winds and low humidity, creating critical fire conditions.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Central Illinois
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Lincoln IL
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 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Central Illinois.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Lincoln has issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity. This alert replaces the previously issued Fire Weather Watch for the region.
Affected Areas
The warning covers the following Illinois counties:
- Knox
- Stark
- Peoria
- Marshall
- Woodford
- Fulton
- Tazewell
- Schuyler
- Mason
- Cass
- Menard
- Scott
- Morgan
What You Should Do
Residents in the affected areas are strongly advised that outdoor burning is not recommended. A Red Flag Warning indicates that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly. Residents should prepare for extreme fire behavior caused by the combination of strong winds and low humidity.
Expected Conditions
- Winds: Southwest winds ranging from 15 to 25 mph, with gusts reaching up to 35 mph.
- Relative Humidity: Humidity levels are expected to drop as low as 20 percent.
- 10-Hour Fuels: Fuel moisture levels are reported at less than 9 percent.
Timeline
The Red Flag Warning is effective starting at 12:00 PM CST today, February 27, and is scheduled to expire at 6:00 PM CST this evening.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
All Weather Alerts →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this NWS weather alert.