Red Flag Warning Issued for Portions of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri Due to Critical Fire Danger
This alert is no longer in effect.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 parts of southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, and northern Missouri effective through 6 PM CST Friday.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Southeastern Iowa, Western Illinois, and Northern Missouri
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Quad 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 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Southeastern Iowa, Western Illinois, and Northern Missouri.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Quad Cities has issued a Red Flag Warning, which is currently in effect. This alert replaces the previous Fire Weather Watch as critical fire weather conditions are expected to develop across the region.
Affected Areas
The warning covers portions of southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, and northern Missouri. Specific counties include:
- Iowa: Muscatine, Scott, Louisa, Jefferson, Henry, Des Moines, Van Buren, and Lee.
- Illinois: Whiteside, Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Putnam, Mercer, Henderson, Warren, Hancock, and McDonough.
- Missouri: Scotland and Clark.
What You Should Do
Residents are strongly advised that outdoor burning is not recommended. Any fire that develops under these conditions will catch and spread quickly. A Red Flag Warning signifies that a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Residents should prepare for these hazardous conditions and avoid activities that could spark a fire.
Expected Conditions
The region is experiencing unseasonably mild temperatures and plentiful dry vegetation. Specific conditions include:
- Winds: Southwest to West winds between 20 to 30 mph, with gusts reaching up to 40 mph.
- Relative Humidity: Levels dropping as low as 20 percent.
- Temperatures: Highs in the middle to upper 60s.
Timeline
The Red Flag Warning is effective from 12:00 PM (noon) today, February 27, and will remain in effect until 6:00 PM CST this evening.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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