Fire Potential Main Title
SA Sub Main Title 1
Issued: Monday, August 27, 2012
Predictive Service Areas Ytd Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
TX_OK
Aug 26 Aug 27 Aug 28 Aug 29 Aug 30 Aug 31 Sep 01 Sep 02
SA09 - TX West Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
SA05 - TX Central Northwest 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA10 - TX Central Southwest 1 1 1 1 1 D D D
SA06 - TX Central Northeast 1 1 1 1 D D D D
SA11 - TX Central Southeast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA07 - TX East North 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA12 - TX East South 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
SA14 - TX Southwest 1 1 1 1 1 D D 2
SA16 - TX Brownsville 1 1 2 2 3 D 3 3
SA15 - TX South Coast 1 1 D D D D 3 3
SA13 - TX Northeast Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA02 - OK West 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA03 - OK Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA17 - OK/AR Ozarks 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3
miss_valley_topo
Fire Potential Sub Main Title 2
Predictive Service Areas Ytd Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Aug 26 Aug 27 Aug 28 Aug 29 Aug 30 Aug 31 Sep 01 Sep 02
SA18 - AR East 1-Jan # # # 3-Jan # 3-Jan 3-Jan
SA19 - LA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA20 - LA Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA21 - LA/MS/AL Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA22 - MS Central & South 1 D 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA23 - MS North 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA38 - AL North 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA39 - AL Central & South 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Fire Potential Sub Main Title 3
Predictive Service Areas Ytd Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Aug 26 Aug 27 Aug 28 Aug 29 Aug 30 Aug 31 Sep 01 Sep 02
se_us_topo,SA Legend
SA40 - GA Northwest 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA41 - GA Central # 1-Jan 1-Jan 1-Jan # 1-Jan 1-Jan 1-Jan
SA42 - GA Southeast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA46 - GA/FL Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA26 - KY West 1 1 1 D 2 1 1 1
SA27 - KY East 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA24 - TN West 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3
SA25 - TN Central & East 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA28 - APP North 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA31 - APP South 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA29 - VA Central 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1
SA32 - NC Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA35 - SC Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA33 - NC Costal Plain 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA36 - SC Coastal Plain 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1
SA30 - VA Coast 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 3
SA34 - NC Coast 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA37 - SC Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA43 - FL Panhandle 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA44 - FL North Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA45 - FL Northeast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA48 - FL Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA50 - FL South 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA47 - FL West Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA51 - FL South Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
SA49 - FL East Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Weather Synopsis:
1.  Red Flag Warnings:  None.
2.  Fire Weather Watches:  None.

3. Weather Summary and Outlook: 

Mostly status quo fire weather conditions from last week for today. A new cold front this morning running southwest from near northwest Kentucky southwest to eastern Oklahoma/Arkansas and then back into central Texas is generating isolated to scattered areas of thunderstorm activity and with it 0.1” to generally 0.25” rain fall. Activity from TS Isaac in the eastern Gulf of Mexico along with a still lingering old frontal zone off the Atlantic coast will produce eastern US coastal rain from Virginia to Georgia with Isaac rain bands producing locally high 1” to 3”+ areas of rain over Florida. Tornadic activity associated with the storms across Florida will be ongoing and a continuing hazard today. Overlapping Isaac and frontal boundary energy will ramp up rain fall for coastal Georgia and southern South Carolina into the 1” zone.

In between the two “rainy” areas described above will be a narrow area of low rain threat and fair weather from central Louisiana northeast across the central south to southwest Virginia. Here, RH minimums will range from the mid 30%s to low 40%s – but fire threat will be still generally low.

4.  Next Significant Precipitation Period(s):  A higher humidity and lower fire risk threat will be the rule most of this week with Isaac bringing in high humidity and rain fall into a large part of the GACC.  We will see an increasing rain free and a return of above average warm temperatures for Texas and Oklahoma late in the week with high back up into the upper 90s to near or at 100 degrees F.

5. Atlantic/Caribbean Tropical Activity Summary: 

     - Tropical Storm Isaac: While TS Isaac continues to show some development (now 65 mph max sustained winds and a central pressure of 990mb), Isaac is still a strong tropical storm this morning and has yet to develop an inner eye wall. Upper level outflow is not impressive. While conditions overall in the Gulf of Mexico are favorable for some strengthening, a separate cyclonic low to Isaac’s southwest near the Yucatan will likely disrupt storm dynamics in the short term. Intensity estimates this morning predict Isaac to reach Category 1 strength with max sustained winds of 92 mph (Category 2 threshold is 111 mph).  Isaac’s tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 240 miles from the center on a northwest to southeast axis.

The pressure patterns as developed Sunday indicate TS Isaac will continue on a westward track following the outer edge of high pressure which is causing the westward motion. The area from the Texas/Louisiana coast east to the southwest Alabama coast in the wide error cone for landfall; still estimated to occur around late Tuesday into Wednesday morning over southeast Louisiana. 

    - Invest 97L:  The next wave of note is in the eastern tropical Atlantic.  This wave is on a northwesterly tack and is not going to encounter very favorable ocean or atmospheric conditions.  The area of disturbed weather is not likely to develop.
Fire Potential Discussion:
Arkansas, Oklahoma, and at least northern Texas will see continuing periods of beneficial rain activity during August.The eastern half of Southern Area will experience high levels of tropical moisture and periodic frontal passages which will keep fire potential low. Rainfall in the Mid-Atlantic region is also expected to be near average with a modest frequency of events.
A strengthening El Nino pattern continues to emerge across the Tropical Pacific, with the warmer than average water moving west from South America into central Pacific Ocean.  There are indications that this El Nino will eventually mature into a weak to moderate episode.  For the Southern Area, this will mean a dramatic increase in rain events as compared to last year, especially during the late fall and winter.

Ignition risks continue to remain elevated across the Southern Plains. Recent rains have helped to reduce, although not completely eliminate, the threat of fires in Arkansas and Oklahpoma. Kentucky and western Tennessee have also seen rainfall return and their risks for ignitions have decreased significantly. Areas of moderate to high fire danger will fluctuate from time to time and is now highest in Oklahoma and northern Texas. Strong winds are not expected, so most fires will remain relatively small.  The El Nino episode that is currently developing will likely become a more significant player during October, November, and December. This episode is expected to be short lived with the drier La Nina condition expected to return by late in 2013.
Resources:
Southern Area is at PL2 as of Aug 09 due to Oklahoma fire activty. 
NOTICE:  Forecasts for the following PSA's may be unavailable or unrepresentative of actual conditions due to missing observations from the stations listed: