Red Flag Warning Issued for Southern Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains Through Thursday
This alert is no longer in effect.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).
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The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for Hall, Childress, Motley, and Cottle counties due to critical fire weather conditions through Thursday evening.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Southern Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Lubbock TX
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 Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Lubbock TX has issued a Red Flag Warning for the region, indicating that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are imminent. This alert replaces the previous Fire Weather Watch as conditions have escalated to a severe level.
Affected Areas
The warning covers the following counties in Texas:
- Hall
- Childress
- Motley
- Cottle
Geographic regions impacted include the far southern Texas Panhandle, the northern South Plains, and the northern Rolling Plains.
What You Should Do
Residents are strongly advised to discourage all outdoor burning. Any fires that develop under these conditions can spread rapidly and exhibit extreme behavior. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures contribute to these hazardous conditions. Residents should prepare for potential fire threats and monitor local weather updates.
Expected Conditions
Weather conditions are expected to be conducive to rapid fire growth due to a combination of dry fuels and high winds:
- Humidity: Relative humidity levels are expected to drop as low as 10 percent.
- Wind (Wednesday): Southwest winds between 20 to 30 mph with gusts reaching up to 45 mph.
- Wind (Thursday): West to northwest winds between 20 to 25 mph with gusts reaching up to 40 mph.
- Fuels: Vegetation and fuels in the area are currently dry.
Timeline
The Red Flag Warning is active during the following windows:
- Wednesday, February 18: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM CST.
- Thursday, February 19: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM CST.
The alert is scheduled to conclude at 7:00 PM CST on Thursday, February 19.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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