Wichita and part of southeast Kansas will be under a catastrophic fire risk — the highest risk possible under the grassland fire danger index — as a unique weather event called a “bomb cyclone” makes its way across the Great Plains.
The three biggest factors are the brown grass, low humidity and expected high winds. Winds are expected to pick up around 10 a.m. Friday and wane around 7 p.m. Sustained winds are expected to be around 30 to 35 mph with gusts approaching 50 to 55 mph.
Vannessa Pearce, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Wichita, said the catastrophic rating typically happens in the area once or twice a year, usually in the spring…