ZCZC SPCFWDDY2 ALL
   FNUS22 KWNS 040712

   Day 2 Fire Weather Outlook  
   NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
   0112 AM CST Sun Jan 04 2026

   Valid 051200Z - 061200Z

   ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
   AND FAR EAST-CENTRAL NEW MEXICO...

   ...Synopsis...
   The mid-level ridge across the central United States will flatten
   during the forecast period as a short-wave trough ejects out of the
   Rockies and into the central Plains. As this mid-level wave moves
   into the Plains, westerly mid-level flow across the Southern Plains
   will correspondingly increase. This will result in another day of
   elevated fire weather conditions across much of southeast Colorado,
   northeast New Mexico, the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, far
   southwest Kansas, and western Oklahoma. Here, relative humidity
   percentages will fall into the teens to locally high single digits. 


   The biggest question for critical fire weather conditions will be
   the strength of the afternoon surface winds. High-resolution
   guidance this evening yields increasing confidence in a belt of
   stronger surface winds from far east-central New Mexico into the
   southern portions of the Texas Panhandle. Here, afternoon winds will
   increase into the 15-20 mph range, with locally higher gusts. These
   winds, coupled with minimum relative humidity percentages in the
   teens will yield a critical fire weather threat.

   ..Marsh.. 01/04/2026

      

   ZCZC SPCFWDD38 ALL
   FNUS28 KWNS 032240

   Day 3-8 Fire Weather Outlook  
   NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
   0440 PM CST Sat Jan 03 2026

   Valid 051200Z - 111200Z

   ...Synopsis...
   By early next week, an upper-level ridge over the central CONUS will
   precede a shortwave trough moving into the Four Corners region. West
   to southwesterly increasing mid-level flow will impact the Southern
   Rockies. This shortwave trough will continue eastward into TN Valley
   and Midwest into D4/Tuesday, with quasi-zonal flow anticipated
   thereafter. By late into next week, the pattern will become more
   amplified as a longwave trough replaces the ridge over most of the
   CONUS.

   ...D3/Monday...
   A lee trough will deepen Monday afternoon in response to increasing
   orthogonal flow and an approaching mid-level shortwave trough. The
   resulting surface pressure gradient, and momentum transfer of
   stronger flow aloft, will yield breezy westerly downslope flow from
   the High Plains of CO, TX, and NM into the OK and TX Panhandles.
   Current uncertainties regarding the duration of critical wind
   speeds, especially across the southern TX Panhandle, do not warrant
   the introduction of higher probabilities at this time. This overall
   pattern, however, does suggest the possibility of more widespread
   near critical fire weather conditions given the increasing mid-level
   height gradient, orientation of such, and position of the low-level
   thermal ridge. The latter should extend southwest to northeast from
   the Western Low Rolling Plains into northwest TX/the southeastern TX
   Panhandle. Locations just west of this axis within the higher wind
   speeds will be investigated in subsequent forecasts for the
   potential inclusion of a D2 Critical area.

   ..Barnes.. 01/03/2026