Warm, windy weather to increase fire danger across the central US by the weekend
May-like warmth will soon return to the nation's midsection after an early spring preview was briefly put on pause at midweek, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
Wildfire evacuee Brooke McQuiddy describes her harrowing escape from her hometown of Canadian, Texas, as an out-of-control wildfire spread quickly in the area on Feb. 27.
Temperatures are poised to soar to record-challenging heights across the nation's midsection following a brief tease from Old Man Winter at midweek. The warmup can arrive with windy weather and an increased fire danger, AccuWeather forecasters say.
A potent cold front clashed with record-breaking, May-like warmth across the central United States, causing an outbreak of severe thunderstorms late Tuesday. Several tornadoes were reported in the western suburbs of Chicago. Behind the front, temperatures plunged 20-40 degrees in a 24-hour span, bringing residents back to the reality that the winter season is not over.
A look at the plunge in temperatures across the central U.S. from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning.
"Following this brief round of cooler air more typical of January, mild conditions are set to return for the end of the week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.
By the end of the week, daytime temperatures will trend 20-40 degrees Fahrenheit higher than their peak at midweek, even reaching record territory in some locations. The warmup will be right on time with the start of meteorological spring, which begins on March 1.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that it will feel more like May once again, as opposed to early March.
Minneapolis is one of many central United States cities that will experience temperature whiplash this week. After a midweek high of 20 F, a big warmup began on Thursday and last right through the weekend. By Sunday, temperatures can approach the daily record of 65 F set in 1905.
Sunday's high temperatures will challenge levels that have not been touched since 1983 in cities such as Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City, Missouri. Each of these cities is expected to reach at least 70 degrees.
The prolonged storm that is expected to unleash feet of snow across the Sierra Nevada will help to contribute to the resurgence of warm weather.
"Strong, southerly winds ahead of this storm will help to transport the warm air across the Plains states and into the Midwest," Travis said.
By Sunday and Monday, the record-challenging warmth is expected to surge as far north as the upper Great Lakes and as far to the east as the central Appalachians.
Fire danger to ramp up with the higher temps
"The transport of the warm air will create windier conditions in the center of the country into the weekend," Travis said.
By the weekend, wind gusts of 25-35 mph are expected to be widespread across the Plains states. Higher gusts past 40 mph are expected in the southern Plains, including over the Texas Panhandle, where fire crews are battling wind-fueled blazes.
"The combination of the warm, windy air and the dry ground could bring a heightened risk for any fire that sparks to spread quickly and any ongoing blaze to potentially breach containment lines," Travis said.
For some locations in the central Plains, precipitation has been hard to come by during the month of February, totaling less than 50% of the historical average. At the same time, temperatures have been 10-14 degrees above the historical average for the month as a whole. These factors, when combined with episodes of gusty winds, are creating an environment ripe for wildfires unusually early in the year.
Residents are encouraged to limit outdoor burning to help prevent new out-of-control blazes. Even in the absence of any wildfires, the gusty conditions can create dangerous crosswinds for motorists, especially those traveling on west-east-oriented interstates.
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