Red Flag Warning Issued for South Plains and Texas Panhandle Through Thursday

Alert Details

The National Weather Service in Lubbock has issued a Red Flag Warning for critical fire weather conditions. This alert is in effect for the far southern Texas Panhandle, northern South Plains, and northern Rolling Plains. Additionally, a Fire Weather Watch has been issued for the following day.

Affected Areas

The warning impacts the following Texas counties:

• Parmer
• Castro
• Swisher
• Briscoe
• Bailey
• Lamb
• Hale
• Floyd
• Cochran
• Hockley
• Lubbock
• Crosby

What You Should Do

Residents in the affected areas are strongly discouraged from engaging in any outdoor burning. A Red Flag Warning indicates that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Any fires that develop can spread rapidly. Residents should monitor later forecasts for possible updates.

Expected Conditions

Weather conditions are expected to be conducive to rapid fire growth due to a combination of dry fuels, low humidity, and high winds:

• Wind: For Thursday, west to northwest winds of 20 to 25 mph are expected, with gusts reaching up to 40 mph. For Friday, west winds are forecast at 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
• Humidity: Relative humidity levels are forecast to drop as low as 10 percent on Thursday and 12 percent on Friday.
• Fuels: Vegetation and other fuels in the region are currently reported as dry.

Timeline

• Red Flag Warning: In effect from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM CST on Thursday, February 19.
• Fire Weather Watch: In effect from Friday morning through Friday evening, February 20.