…CRITICAL FIRE CONDITIONS FOR SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND WEST
TEXAS ON TUESDAY…
.Strong jet stream flow aloft crossing the Southern Rockies will
induce a deep 980-mb surface low over the Central Plains on
Tuesday. Strong west-southwest winds across New Mexico and west
Texas are expected during the afternoon and evening hours with
sustained 20-ft speeds 25 to 35 mph and gusts as high as 60 mph.
Relative humidity continues to be dry, falling below 15% in the
desert lowlands and 15 to 25% in the National Forests. Mountain
zones are included in the warning given unseasonably dry fuels
and ongoing severe drought conditions. Latest ERCs are near the
90th- percentile. Any fires that start have the potential to
spread rapidly.
Strong winds will continue on Wednesday on the backside of the
system but not as strong. Winds will top out around 20 to 25 MPH
while minimum relative humidity values drop to the lower to mid
teens in the lowlands. Mountains will see higher minimum relative
humidity values and were not included within the Fire Weather
Watch for Wednesday.
…FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS, DRY FUELS, AND LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITY FOR THE LOWLANDS OF SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR WEST
TEXAS…
* AFFECTED AREA…Warning and Watch…Fire Weather Zone 055 Texas
Fire Weather Zone 055 El Paso County, Fire Weather Zone 056
Texas Fire Weather Zone 056 Hudspeth County, Fire Weather Zone
111 Southwest Deserts and Lowlands/Las Cruces BLM/GLZ, and Fire
Weather Zone 112 South Central Lowlands and Southern Rio Grande
Valley/BLM/GLZ
Warning only…Fire Weather Zone 113 Capitan and Sacramento
Mountains/Lincoln NF/LNZ.
* TIMING…For the Warning, Tuesday afternoon Noon through 9 PM
MDT. For the Watch, Wednesday afternoon 2 PM through 8 PM.
* WINDS…for the warning, West 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60
mph. For the watch, West 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…10 to 20 percent.
* EXPERIMENTAL RFTI…4 to 6 or Near-Critical to Critical
* IMPACTS…Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly.
Outdoor burning is not recommended.