High winds and dry conditions Monday, May 1, prompted local National Weather Service offices to issue a Red Flag Warning for a large portion of northwestern and north-central Minnesota.
A Red Flag Warning means critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will occur shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior, the weather service reported. The warning extends noon to 8 p.m. Monday with near-critical fire weather conditions expected Tuesday as well.
Included in the warning area are Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Polk, Red Lake, Pennington, Crow Wing and Cass counties. North winds ranging 15-25 mph with gusts as high as 35 mph combined with relative humidity as low as 20% means any fires that ignite may spread rapidly and become difficult to control.
The weather is very variable today! If you're in NW WI and you've seen snow, let us know how much you got! If you're in NE MN, especially west of the Iron Range / Twin Ports, near-critical to critical fire weather conditions are expected this afternoon. #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/ajjKO4QFdk
— NWS Duluth (@NWSduluth) May 1, 2023
While Aitkin, Itasca and Koochiching counties were not yet included in the Red Flag Warning area as of Monday morning, the National Weather Service in Duluth included those areas alongside Cass and Crow Wing counties as its “Area of Concern” for fire weather conditions.
Burning restrictions are in effect throughout much of northwestern Minnesota with no open burning allowed, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The majority of Minnesota, except the Arrowhead, is listed in high fire danger. A section stretching southeast from Polk County along the Minnesota-North Dakota border to Crow Wing County is listed as very high.
Gusty north winds and dry weather today will introduce near critical fire weather conditions to portions of eastern ND and critical fire weather conditions to northwestern and west central MN. Any fires that ignite may spread rapidly and become difficult to control. #ndwx #mnwx pic.twitter.com/jBvUtxbsKh
— NWS Grand Forks (@NWSGrandForks) May 1, 2023
Fire danger isn’t the only weather on the docket for the region. The weather service in Duluth reported the possibility of wet, heavy snowfall along the south shore of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin.
Temperatures are expected to reach 53-56 degrees Monday with sunny skies. Similar temps, wind speeds and humidity are in Tuesday’s forecast, with upper 60s expected Wednesday.