Red Flag Warning Issued for Southwest Kansas: Critical Wildfire Danger Expected Wednesday
This alert is no longer in effect.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 Southwest Kansas as strong winds and low humidity create conditions for rapid wildfire spread on Wednesday.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Southwest Kansas
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Dodge City KS
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 Southwest Kansas.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a Red Flag Warning for southwest Kansas. This alert signifies that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are imminent, driven by a combination of strong winds and low relative humidity.
Affected Areas
The warning covers the following counties and fire weather zones in Kansas:
- Scott
- Lane
- Ness
- Hodgeman
- Ford
- Edwards
- Kiowa
- Clark
- Comanche
What You Should Do
Residents in the affected areas are strongly advised to avoid all outdoor burning. Any fire that develops under these conditions will catch and spread quickly. Residents should prepare for extreme fire behavior and monitor local updates.
Expected Conditions
- Winds: Southwest winds between 20 to 30 mph are expected, with gusts reaching up to 45 mph.
- Humidity: Relative humidity levels are forecast to drop as low as 11 percent.
- Impacts: The combination of high winds and dry air will facilitate rapid fire growth and difficult containment for any new ignitions.
Timeline
The Red Flag Warning is effective from 11:00 AM CST (10:00 AM MST) on Wednesday, February 18, and will remain in effect until 8:00 PM CST (7:00 PM MST) Wednesday evening.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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