FNUS21 KWNS 201547

FWDDY1



Day 1 Fire Weather Outlook  

NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK

1046 AM CDT Fri Mar 20 2026



Valid 201700Z - 211200Z



...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN WYOMING...



Visible satellite data depicts clear skies, with boundary-layer

warming underway. Surface observations show temperatures reaching

the 60s F in spots, with RH dipping to 20 percent, and westerly

surface winds approaching 20 mph amid 25 mph gusts. Guidance

consensus suggests that boundary-layer mixing will continue into the

afternoon hours, resulting in overlapping widespread 15-20 percent

RH and 15-20 mph sustained westerly surface winds. As such, the

current Elevated and Critical highlights across the northern High

Plains into the northern Rockies have been maintained.



..Squitieri.. 03/20/2026



.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 0115 AM CDT Fri Mar 20 2026/



...Synopsis...

A persistent upper-level ridge will remain centered over the

Southwest today with modest northwest flow aloft across the

central/northern High Plains. Surface high pressure over the

Intermountain West coupled with lee troughing across the northern

Great Plains will continue to favor a downslope wind regime, with

dry and windy conditions forecast to support elevated to critical

fire weather concerns across portions of the central and northern

High Plains.



...Central/Northern High Plains...

Record warm temperatures continue across much of the West amid an

anomalously strong upper-level ridge centered across the Southwest.

With high pressure remaining in place across the Intermountain West

and lee troughing across the northern Great Plains, a continuing

downslope wind regime is forecast to yield sustained

west-northwesterly surface winds of 20-25 mph across portions of

central/eastern Wyoming. Poor overnight RH recoveries have been

noted via recent surface observations with further RH reductions to

10-20% forecast this afternoon. Coupled with receptive fuels, this

is expected to support critical fire weather conditions across

central/eastern Wyoming today. Elevated fire weather concerns are

also forecast across adjacent areas of the western Wyoming Basin and

portions of southwestern South Dakota and western Nebraska where

surface winds of 15-20 mph are expected to overlap minimum RH values

of 10-20%. 



Fuels remain more marginal farther to the north across much of

southern Montana and portions of extreme southwestern North Dakota

and northwestern South Dakota; however, continued warm/dry

conditions have supported some drying of fine fuels along with

recent fire activity. Given this, elevated fire weather conditions

are expected this afternoon as RH values are forecast to range from

15-25% amid stronger sustained westerly winds of 15-25 mph. 40+

knots of 700 mb flow across this region coupled with deep boundary

layer mixing may also support occasional wind gusts of 30-40 mph.



...Central Nevada into southern Oregon...

Guidance continues to indicate localized potential for sustained

southwesterly surface winds of 10-15 mph this afternoon as the

surface pressure gradient tightens ahead of an approaching cold

front. With RH values forecast to fall to 10-15%, localized elevated

fire weather concerns may materialize across portions of southern

Oregon into central Nevada, especially in areas that favor

terrain-induced wind enhancements. However, widespread elevated

conditions are not expected at this time given marginal early season

fuel conditions and sporadic coverage of coincident elevated wind/RH

criteria.



...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov/fire for graphic product...



$$