Fire Weather Outlook
— Day 2
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NEW MEXICO INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
Synopsis
A mid-level trough will amplify while traversing the Rockies, resulting in a deepening surface low across the central Plains. Similar to Day 1, another round of dry downslope flow is expected behind a sharpening dryline across the southern High Plains. The latest guidance consensus depicts widespread 20-25 mph sustained southwesterly surface winds amid 15-20 percent RH across much of the lower Colorado River Basin into the southern High Plains, hence the introduction of broad Elevated highlights. Critical highlights have been introduced across southeastern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle, where guidance consensus shows the aforementioned meteorological surface conditions overspreading loaded fuels that are most receptive to wildfire spread. Initial discrete thunderstorm development across the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles may initially be high based as storms develop over a mixed boundary layer immediately along the dryline. Given dry fuel beds, lightning-induced fire ignitions are possible where storms first develop, warranting the introduction of isolated dry thunderstorm highlights.
000 FNUS22 KWNS 150701 FWDDY2 Day 2 Fire Weather Outlook NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 0201 AM CDT Fri May 15 2026 Valid 161200Z - 171200Z ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NEW MEXICO INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE... ...Synopsis... A mid-level trough will amplify while traversing the Rockies, resulting in a deepening surface low across the central Plains. Similar to Day 1, another round of dry downslope flow is expected behind a sharpening dryline across the southern High Plains. The latest guidance consensus depicts widespread 20-25 mph sustained southwesterly surface winds amid 15-20 percent RH across much of the lower Colorado River Basin into the southern High Plains, hence the introduction of broad Elevated highlights. Critical highlights have been introduced across southeastern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle, where guidance consensus shows the aforementioned meteorological surface conditions overspreading loaded fuels that are most receptive to wildfire spread. Initial discrete thunderstorm development across the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles may initially be high based as storms develop over a mixed boundary layer immediately along the dryline. Given dry fuel beds, lightning-induced fire ignitions are possible where storms first develop, warranting the introduction of isolated dry thunderstorm highlights. ..Squitieri.. 05/15/2026 ...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov/fire for graphic product... $$