Critical fire weather risk through Monday evening

Much of Minnesota is under a critical fire weather risk through Monday evening. An unseasonably warm air mass has pushed temperatures into the 60s and 70s across the Upper Midwest. This is the warmest air mass in nearly five months.

Gusty southerly winds and a dry air mass are combining to create extreme fire weather conditions in parts of western Minnesota.

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1203 PM CDT Mon Mar 29 2021

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA... .

Critical fire weather conditions are expected this afternoon across portions of western and central Minnesota as temperatures warm into the upper 70s and southerly winds gust as high as 45 to 50 mph. The driest conditions are expected for a few hours this afternoon across western Minnesota, where RH values are likely to drop to around 15 percent. Temperatures will begin to fall during the evening behind a cold front, but even drier air behind the front will result in critical relative humidity values being maintained through the evening.

A red flag warning remains in effect for most of western Minnesota through this evening.

We don’t often see extreme fire weather danger in Minnesota. But check out the area the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration paints as critical fire weather this Monday. It runs from Texas all the way north onto western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas.

Wind gusts so far have reached 44 mph in the Twin Cities and southwest Minnesota Monday. Wind advisories remain in effect through the evening.

Including the cities of Alexandria, Long Prairie, Little Falls, Princeton, Mora, Morris, Glenwood, St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Elk River, Cambridge, Center City, Madison, Benson, Montevideo, Willmar, Litchfield, Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Granite Falls, Olivia, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, Redwood Falls, New Ulm, St Peter, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, St James, Mankato, Waseca, Owatonna, Fairmont, Blue Earth, Albert Lea, Osceola, Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls, Menomonie, Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire

1159 AM CDT Mon Mar 29 2021

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING...

* WHAT...Southwest winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts around 50 mph expected.

* WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Wisconsin and central, east central, south central, southeast, southwest and west central Minnesota.

* WHEN...Until 9 PM CDT this evening.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.

Any fires that start will spread rapidly in the windy and dry conditions.