NOAA
WARNS NEW YEAR WILL BRING SERIOUS THREAT OF WILDFIRES
December
30, 2005 � Wildfires will likely continue to char the landscape of the
southern Plains into the start of the New Year as NOAA
predicts unseasonably warm temperatures, low humidity and increasing
winds in combination with drought-stricken land.
“This
is a potentially very dangerous situation,” said Phillip Bothwell,
fire weather focal point for the NOAA
Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. “With this very high
fire danger, public officials have advised that New Year celebrations
continue without fireworks. Also, cigarettes must be properly extinguished
and local burn bans need to be honored. All are worthy sacrifices given
the potential loss for life and property.”
Factors
fueling these winter fires include:
Drought.
The latest U.S.
Drought Monitor, issued by NOAA and partner agencies on Thursday,
shows the driest conditions in the nation lie across central and eastern
Texas, central and eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas where the
drought is described as “severe” to “exceptional.”
(Click NOAA image for larger view of drought monitor as of
December 27, 2005. Please credit “NOAA.”)
- Dry
fuels.
Grass and other vegetation have been starved of rain and snow and
the forecast remains dry. Precipitation for the year (through December
29), for example, is 22.08 inches below average in Denton, Texas,
and 14.08 inches short in Tulsa, Okla.
- Warm
temperatures. Highs in the 70s to near 80 degrees will
be common on Sunday and are well above average for January 1. An average
high in Dallas/Fort Worth is 54 degrees F with 47 degrees F in Oklahoma
City.
-
Low
humidity. Dry
air is imported by westerly winds descending the southern Rockies
and blowing across the hardened land. Needed moisture flowing north
from the Gulf of Mexico is shunted east.
- Wind.
Steady breezes with gusts to 40 mph help to quickly fan existing flames.
Residents
of the southern Plains are urged to stay up-to-date on this elevated
fire weather situation through forecasts and special statements from
NOAA National Weather Service
forecast offices and the two-day fire outlooks from the NOAA Storm Prediction
Center.
NOAA, an
agency of the U.S. Department of
Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national
safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related
events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal
and marine resources. (Click NOAA image for larger view of wildfire
hot spots in the southern Plains taken December 29, 2005, at 1:06 p.m.
CST. Click here for high resolution
version. Please credit “NOAA.”)
Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to
develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet
it observes.
Relevant Web Sites
NOAA
National Weather Service
NOAA
Storm Prediction Center
NOAA
Storm Prediction Center Fire Weather Forecasts
NOAA
Fire Weather Information Center
NOAA
Drought Information Center
Media
Contact:
Greg Romano, NOAA
National Weather Service, (301) 713-0622 ext. 169
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