A majority of Texas will face a dangerous mix of hurricane-like winds, warm temperatures and bone-dry conditions on Friday, increasing the risk of fast-moving wildfires throughout a large portion of the state, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
A red-flag warning will be in effect for all of North, Central and West Texas until 9 p.m. Friday, meaning any outdoor flames or sparks could quickly turn into larger flames. The NWS also issued a high-wind warning until 7 p.m. Winds are expected to reach up to 65 mph throughout North and Central Texas and up to 80 mph in West Texas. A fire-weather warning was issued in Central Texas until 9 p.m. Saturday.
Additionally, the NWS says humidity levels across much of Texas are expected to dip as low as 5%, while high temperatures are expected to persist as heavy winds blow through the state.
鈥淭his is a highly unusual fire threat,鈥� said Madi Gordon, meteorologist at the NWS Fort Worth Forecast Office. 鈥淲e are facing a very dangerous situation here for most of Texas.鈥�
According to Gordon, potential wildfires could 鈥渆asily ignite and be extremely difficult to contain鈥� due to the low humidity and high winds. She suggests avoiding any activities like outdoor burning, driving or parking a car over tall grass, and tossing lit cigarettes into grass.
As of Thursday, parts of Central and West Texas were experiencing 鈥渆xtreme鈥� to 鈥渆xceptional鈥� droughts, while North Texas was experiencing mostly 鈥渁bnormally dry鈥� conditions, according to data from the .
