(Statewide News) – The number of Iowa counties under a burn ban continues to grow due to an ongoing fire risk. As of Tuesday, Feb. 18^th, 13 Iowa Counties were banning opening burning. Elsewhere, open burning and tossing of cigarettes or other means that may accidentally create fires, was strongly discouraged. Persons who previously had a controlled burn that was extinguished, were asked to keep a close eye on their property, because strong winds could cause those burn piles to rekindle. In southwest Iowa, Mills County was added to the list, that also includes Crawford, Shelby, Union and Ringgold, as of the latest information.

Aa burn ban goes into effect when fuels (such as tender vegetation, brush and timber) get less than 20% moisture and high temperatures, high winds, and low humidity start to develop.

Burn bans in February are rare, because there is usually enough snowpack on the ground, or at the very least heavy moisture in the ground, because the snow is starting to melt. In the last couple of months, though, Iowa has had significantly less snow than usual. Without that moisture in the ground, the risk of grass and field fires heightens.

Fire officials say what’s needed is a good soaking rain that saturates the soil, along with higher humidity in the range of 40%-50% or more, for a sustained period of time. Otherwise any moisture in the ground from rain can be dried out by the wind within 48-hours, which results in the same dry conditions.

Today: **RED FLAG WARNING from 10-am until 7-p.m. for critical fire weather conditions leading to fast fire growth**Mostly sunny & windy. High near 64. W/SW winds 20-35 mph decreasing to 10-15 later this afternoon.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. SW-NE winds 5-15 mph w/gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tomorrow: A 40% chance of rain and/or snow. Little or no snow accumulation is expected. A high near 46. Winds NE-NW @ 15-25 mph.
Tom. Night: A 50% chance of snow. Low around 19. Winds NW @ 15-25 mph. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33.
Saturday: A 20% chance of snow, otherwise partly sunny, with a high near 34.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 29.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 67 degrees. The Low was 43. Last year on this date (Feb. 18th), the High in Atlantic was 2, and the Low was -13. The Record High for this date was 67 in 2017, the record Low was -25 in 1978. Sunrise: 7:12; Sunset: 5:56.

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Des Moines IA

…Critical Fire Weather Conditions are Expected Today (Wednesday)…

Strong and gusty west wind combined with very low relative humidity and cured fuels will lead to conditions conducive for
very fast fire growth.

A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 7 PM TODAY FOR ALL IOWA COUNTIES (EXCEPT MILLS, FREMONT AND PAGE) – FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. 

* WIND…West wind 25 to 35 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph.

* HUMIDITY…Minimum relative humidity values of 12 to 22%

* IMPACTS…any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

BURN PLACES ARE CURRENTLY IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR CRAWFORD MILLS, SHELBY, UNION & RINGGOLD COUNTIES IN WESTERN & SW IOWA.

For more information from the National Weather Service visit https://weather.gov/desmoines

Today: Partly sunny & windy, with a high near 71. Winds S @ 10-20 mph w/gusts to around 35 this afternoon.
Tonight: A slight chance of showers before 8pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 9pm; Otherwise Partly cloudy & windy. A low around 40. S-W winds 15-30 mph.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 63. W/SW winds 10-25 mph.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. SW winds becoming NE @ 5-15 mph w/gusts to near 20 mph.
Thursday: Partly sunny w/a 50% chance of rain. Breezy. A high near 50. New precipitation amounts < .10″.
Thu. Night: Rain and snow likely, becoming all snow after 9pm. Low around 18.
Friday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 35.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 68 degrees, a NEW RECORD HIGH. The old record High was 64 in 2017. The Low was 31. Last year on this date (Feb. 17th), the High in Atlantic was 7, and the Low was -15. The Record High for this date was 71 in 2017, the record Low was -34 in 1958. Sunrise: 7:13; Sunset: 5:56.

(Radio Iowa) – The calendar says February but forecasters say it’ll feel a lot more like April or even May this (Monday) afternoon and for the next few days. Meteorologist Kristy Carter, at the National Weather Service, says the predicted high temperatures could be historic, perhaps in the low 70s on Tuesday. “They are certainly going to challenge some records today, like say in Des Moines 66, Waterloo 62, Mason City 63, Ottumwa 65 — those are all the records for today,” Carter says. “Our forecast high temperatures are in the upper 50s in northern Iowa to upper 60s in southwest Iowa.”

It’s said all good things must come to an end, and Carter says this warm spell will likely only last for a couple of days. “We are looking at a cool down towards the end of the week, Thursday into Friday. We’ll get some precipitation chances back into the weekend,” Carter says. “We’re looking at temperatures back in the 30s to 40s and even by Sunday we might see some highs back in the 20s.”

The long-range forecast shows chances for snow in parts of Iowa both Saturday and Sunday.

Today (Washington’s Birthday): Mostly cloudy early; Gradually becoming sunny. High near 67. S/SW winds 5-10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. SE wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow: Cloudy; Gradually becoming mostly sunny. Windy. A high near 71. S/SE @ 15-25 w/gusts to near 35-mph.
Tom. Night: A 40% chance of rain before midnight. Low around 42. S-to W winds @ 15-30 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny & breezy, with a high near 62.
Wed. Night: A 20% chance of rain after midnight. Low around 32.
Thursday: A 40% chance of rain or snow before noon, then a chance of rain; Partly sunny & breezy. High near 49.
Thursday Night: A 50% chance of snow. Blustery. A low around 19.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 66 degrees. The Low was 26. Last year on this date (Feb. 16th), the High in Atlantic was 12, and the Low was -9. The Record High for this date was 64 in 2017, the record Low was -33 in 1958. Sunrise: 7:14; Sunset: 5:54.

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Tonight: Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 33. Light and variable wind.
Tomorrow: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 63. Calm wind becoming SW @ 5-10 mph in the afternoon.
Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. S/SW winds 10-20 mph.
Monday (President’s Day): Partly sunny, with a high near 63.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny & windy, with a high near 70.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 61.

Friday’s High in Atlantic of 64 degrees was a record-setter for Feb. 13th! The old record of 63 was set in 1934. Our Low was 15. Last year on this date (Feb. 14th), the High in Atlantic was 32, and the Low was 16. The Record High for this date was 68 in 1934, the record Low was -20 in 1936. Sunrise: 7:17; Sunset: 5:52.

(Radio Iowa) – The National Weather Service plans to offer a series of weather spotter classes starting next month. Meteorologist Chad Hahn says they will do in person training and are adding online training as well. “We’re going to be doing some virtual sessions that will be scheduled during the months of March and April that will be during the evening and we might have one or two during the daytime as well so folks could jump on really to learn about what the warning system is about severe weather and how ground truth can help the warning decisions that the forecasters make,” he says.

Hahn says they will have the full schedule out soon.”Definitely encourage folks to check out our website and keep an eye on weather.gov/Des Moines,” Hahn says. “We’ll have some information on there as about those classes and the virtual sessions once they’re scheduled and maybe future in-person sessions as well.”

Hahn says they want to got to some counties they haven’t visit in a while for in person classes and they should start in the first week in March.