Wisconsin facing elevated fire risk on Monday due to wind, humidity
Monday’s weather conditions have Wisconsin in a state of elevated fire risk, as wildfire season in the state continues.
The local National Weather Service said that low humidity and gusty winds are providing conditions conducive to wildfires and the state Department of Natural Resources has all of Wisconsin in elevated fire danger. A key factor is that. beginning in the afternoon, winds gusts are expected to reach between 30 and 35 miles per hour.
“You have lower moisture content in the air and higher winds, and a lot of our fuels … are a bit elevated as well,” said Taylor Patterson, a meteorologist at the local NWS.
This week’s fire risk continues after last week, when the state DNR put out alerts for elevated fire risk and is part of a rapid start for the year’s wildfire season, after a dry winter. According to the state DNR’s fire monitoring dashboard, there have been 538 fires so far this year and almost 1,100 acres burned in Wisconsin.
On Monday, the state DNR’s fire situation map, which shows fire danger by county on a five-level scale of low to extreme, has the southern portion of the state in moderate fire danger. The rest of the state is in high to very high fire danger.
Patterson said that humidity levels in the state are expected to be in the mid to low 20s, meaning low moisture in the air and higher fire chances.
The elevated fire conditions should ease into the evening, as showers are forecasted tonight and continue into tomorrow. That system could begin as early as this afternoon but is more likely to bring scattered rains producing up to a half inch of rain near Milwaukee, Patterson said.
The rain will be heavier tomorrow, but still spare, with it forecasted around .1 inches, she said.
Today and tomorrow’s rain will cover much of the central and eastern parts of the state, with lower chances of rain in the western parts. As the week progresses, fire conditions should ease some, with tomorrow’s rain and higher humidity expected midweek, Patterson said.
This weekend is also forecasted to be warm, with a high of 74 degrees on Saturday, and stormy.
Wisconsin Weather Radar
Wisconsin Weather Warnings
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin fire risk elevated with heavy wind gusts and low humidity
