Critical Fire Weather Puts Parts of Missouri Under Red Flag Warning

Parts of Missouri, including Cincinnati and Fayette, received a Red Flag Warning from NWS once more due to the persistent critical fire weather in the state.

Red Flag Warning is in effect until 8 p.m. today for the counties of Fayette, Union, Ripley, Franklin, Butler, Dearborn, Hamilton, Kenton, Ohio, Boone, Campbell, Switzerland, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, and Pendleton. Due to the dry air and brisk winds, outdoor burning is not advised.

Chilly Friday, BLINK, High School Football

The day will start chilly, according to ABC9's weather experts. Although the morning temperatures start in the 30s and 40s, they feel a little colder than that. Even though the wind is less brisk this morning, it is still 5 to 10 mph. Although today will be yet another gorgeous day, there will be a 10-15 mph wind gust in the late afternoon. Residents can expect partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid-60s.

Even though there is a slight chance of late-night or early-morning showers, the majority of the region will remain dry. High school football and BLINK will be chilly. Tonight's lows will be in the low to mid-40s.

After a few brief overnight showers, Saturday will have a mix of cloudiness and dry weather for the majority of the day. Lows will be in the 30s and 40s, with highs once more in the 60s. Similar temperatures and weather are predicted for Sunday, and it will continue to be dry.

Next week's temperature highs will fall into the low 50s, with a few locations experiencing highs in the 40s, so locals should be prepared for a cooldown. For some of the areas, lows will also fall below freezing.

Red Flag Warning

Weather experts are urging residents to make preparations according to their respective local announcements.

The Red Flag Warning was issued by the National Weather Service - St. Louis, Missouri office.

According to the experts, there will be 20-foot winds towards the west with speeds of 15 to 25 mph and gusts that could reach 45 mph.

Temperatures are in the upper 60s, and the relative humidity is as low as 21%. This makes for excellent critical fire weather, which is predicted to last until Friday night around 8 PM CDT.

No lightning has been predicted thus far. Uncontrolled wildfires can, however, spread and grow quickly under these circumstances.

When there is a Red Flag Warning, it means that there is or will soon be a critical fire weather condition. Extreme fire behavior may result from a combination of low relative humidity, strong winds, and dry fuels.

Powerful southwest winds, dry fuels, and low relative humidity will encourage risky fire behavior this afternoon and early this evening across central, east-central, and southeast Missouri, as well as southwest Illinois. This will happen by Friday afternoon. Since the last warning, the critical fire danger area has been extended to also include east-central Missouri as well as southwest Illinois, ABC9 WCPO Cincinnati reports.