Red Flag Warning Issued for Parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota

Alert Details

The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity. This alert replaces the previous Fire Weather Watch for the region.

Affected Areas

The warning covers a broad geographic area across four states, specifically targeting areas along and south of Interstate-90:

• Iowa: Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Sioux, O’Brien, Clay, Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Woodbury, and Ida counties.
• Minnesota: Nobles, Jackson, and Rock counties.
• Nebraska: Dixon and Dakota counties.
• South Dakota: Gregory, Brule, Aurora, Davison, Hanson, McCook, Minnehaha, Charles Mix, Douglas, Hutchinson, Turner, Lincoln, Bon Homme, Yankton, Clay, and Union counties.

What You Should Do

Residents in the affected areas are strongly advised that outdoor burning is not recommended. A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. The combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly.

Expected Conditions

• Winds: West winds ranging from 25 to 35 mph, with gusts reaching as high as 50 mph.
• Relative Humidity: Levels are expected to drop as low as 15 percent.
• Impacts: Critical fire weather conditions will make any fire difficult to control.

Timeline

The Red Flag Warning is effective from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM CST on Wednesday, February 18. The alert was originally issued at 10:06 PM CST on February 17.