LUBBOCK, Texas — Today will be warm and windy. Record-breaking temperatures combined with strong winds and critically dry conditions are leading to fire danger across the South Plains.
What to Expect Today
Saturday will feel more like late spring than late December. We expect the high in the low 80s. The current record for the date is 80, set in 1921. The warmest temperature recorded here in December is 83, set on December 6, 1939.
But the heat is only half the story.
Critical Fire Weather Conditions
A Fire Weather Warning, also known as a Red Flag Warning, is in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday across the South Plains, including Muleshoe, Littlefield, Morton, Levelland, Lubbock, Plains, Brownfield, Tahoka and Post. This means conditions are critically dangerous for fire spread.
The wildfire risk is elevated all across the region. The warning area is where the worst combination of high wind and low humidity will be.
Here’s why: Southwest winds will ramp up to 30 mph today, especially across elevated areas. As temperatures climb during peak heating hours, humidity will plummet to dangerous lows — as low as 10 percent. Combine that with extremely dry vegetation, and you have a recipe for rapid fire spread…