Red Flag Warning Issued for Southern Black Hills Due to Critical Fire Conditions
This alert is no longer in effect.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 the Southern Black Hills until 6:00 PM MST Friday as low humidity and gusty winds create extreme fire risks.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Southern Black Hills
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Rapid City SD
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 Southern Black Hills.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Rapid City has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Southern Black Hills. The alert was issued on February 27 and remains in effect until 6:00 PM MST this evening.
Affected Areas
The warning specifically impacts Fire Weather Zone 321, covering the Southern Black Hills region. While the broader regional alert mentions parts of northeastern Wyoming and south-central South Dakota, this specific warning focuses on the Southern Black Hills.
What You Should Do
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. Residents are advised to prepare for potential fire hazards. The National Weather Service warns that the combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
Expected Conditions
Very dry air is currently over the region, with existing D1 to D2 drought conditions exacerbating the fire potential. Expected conditions include:
- Winds: Northwest winds between 10 to 15 mph, with gusts reaching up to 25 mph.
- Relative Humidity: Levels are expected to drop as low as 15 percent.
- Impacts: The combination of these factors will produce critical fire weather conditions.
Timeline
The alert is effective immediately and is scheduled to expire at 6:00 PM MST on Friday, February 27, 2026.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
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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.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (1,383 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (high) notices issued closest in time to April 6, 2026.
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