Wildfire Map Shows 10 States at Risk As Urgent Warnings Issued

A map from the National Weather Service (NWS) shows 10 states in the U.S. Northeast at an increased risk for wildfires due to several weather conditions, prompting NWS to issue a slew of urgent warnings.

NWS meteorologists issued a special weather statement late Tuesday morning for the following 10 states alerting residents to several weather developments creating prime conditions for wildfires: Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Maine.

"Dry conditions with gusty winds are expected across the region today. Minimum relative humidity values will drop as low as 20 percent in some areas with south to southwest wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph during the afternoon," an NWS warning in New York said. "Although this Spring has been wet, fine fuels such as dead grass and leaf litter will quickly dry out in these conditions. If any fires were to start, the windy and dry weather will increase the risk of wildfire spread, making it difficult to contain.

Read more: Emergency Funds: How to Build One and Where to Keep It

"The annual statewide burn ban is in effect until May 14th. No burn permits are issued."

The conditions prompted the NWS office in Pittsburgh to issue an urgent message on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning.

"...ELEVATED FIRE DANGER THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS EVENING FOR WEST VIRGINIA... Relative humidity will drop to between 15% and 25% with winds gusting from 20 mph to 30 mph at times. These conditions make it possible for an increased risk of wildfires today," the office said.

The conditions are accompanied by cooler weather in the Great Lakes region and the eastern U.S., NWS said. Frost posed a risk to some areas in the Northeast.

"Tonight will be noticeably warmer than early this morning. However, there's still a chance of frost in some areas tomorrow morning under prolong clear conditions," NWS Pittsburgh said on X.

A special weather statement also was issued across much of New Mexico and far western Texas for fire conditions. A red flag warning was issued for a small portion of Colorado.

Red flag warnings are typically issued when warm temperatures, very low humidities and strong winds combine, creating an increased risk of fire danger.

NWS lead meteorologist David Shallenberger told Newsweek that he doesn't anticipate the special weather statement in the Northeast to evolve into a red flag warning.

"We are starting to green up now, and we just had a period of rainfall," he said. "The moisture in things that could burn has been relatively high lately."

Shallenberger said meteorologists are concerned about the wind and relative humidity, but that those two conditions alone won't exacerbate the situation to be worthy of a red flag warning. However, the public is still advised not to burn outdoors until the conditions recover.