The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency/911 is asking all Fire Departments in the County to immediately place the Fire Danger Rating Boards in the EXTREME category. The Increase in Fire Danger is due to No expected precipitation in next four days, large volume of dead plant material, low humidity’s, increased temperature’s, predicted gusting winds to 29MPH, and limited field access due to thawing conditions.

Fire Behavior predictions in these conditions are as follows: fire spread between 7 to 10 MPH, with flame lengths approximately 30’ in length at the front of the fire. Fires that start in these conditions can easily overtake and trap you. Firefighters are at a high risk also due to traction issues off road.

Shelby County Ordinance NO. 2012-1 Local Burning Ban Ordinance allows citations to be issued during these conditions. A violation of this ordinance is punishable by a minimum fine of $100 for an individual or $500 for an organization, not to exceed $1000. The violator may also be liable for additional reasonable restitution.

**Fire Weather Watch for wind & low humidity this afternoon for Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont & Page Counties**RED FLAG WARNING this afternoon for extreme fire conditions in Sac, Crawford, and Carroll Counties.**

Today: Sunny & windy. High near 73. S @ 10-20 w/gusts to near 30.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low around 40. S/SE @ 5-10.

Friday: Partly Cloudy & breezy. High near 65. SW winds becoming NE @ 10-25.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. N @ 10-20.

Saturday: Partly Cloudy. High near 60. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 37.

Sunday: Partly Cloudy & breezy. High near 72.

********

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 66. Our 24-hour Low (ending at 7-am today) is 32. Last year on this date we reached 45 for our High and 22 was the Low. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on March 12th, was 74 in 1938. The Record Low was -21 in 1998. Sunrise today is at 7:37, Sunset at 7:23.

HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE-Counties
329 AM CDT THU MAR 12 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING.

* WINDS…SOUTH 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AS LOW AS 20 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS…THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TO OCCUR. LISTEN FOR LATER FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE RED FLAG WARNINGS.

SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-MONONA COUNTIES

350 AM CDT THU MAR 12 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* WIND…INCREASING TO SOUTH 25 TO 30 MPH BY AFTERNOON

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AS LOW AS 25 TO 35 PERCENT IN THE AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS…FUELS ARE VERY DRY ACROSS THE AREA. ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPREAD RAPIDLY. OUTDOOR BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED ACROSS THE REGION.

* TIMING…WINDS WILL INCREASE AFTER NOON WITH PEAK WINDS BETWEEN 1 PM AND 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON. RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL ALSO BE AT ITS LOWEST DURING THIS TIME.

* FUEL…FINE FUELS SUCH AS GRASSES AND BRUSH ARE VERY DRY AND WILL BURN EASILY.

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 WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

330 AM CDT THU MAR 12 2015

EARLY THIS MORNING…MOSTLY CLEAR. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

TODAY…SUNNY…BREEZY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH INCREASING TO NORTH 15 TO 20 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

SATURDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S.

SUNDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S.

AREA COUNTIES: SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-MONONA

432 PM CDT WED MAR 11 2015

Counties in Peach color are included in the Fire Weather Watch

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS…WHICH IS IN EFFECT THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR PARTS OF WESTERN/NW IA AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. THE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON THROUGH 7-PM FOR MOST COUNTIES AFFECTED.

* WIND…SOUTH 20 TO 30 MPH

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…20 TO 35 PERCENT

* IMPACTS…FUELS ARE VERY DRY ACROSS THE AREA. ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPREAD RAPIDLY. OUTDOOR BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TO OCCUR. LISTEN FOR LATER FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE RED FLAG WARNINGS.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 70. E @ 5-10.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 33. SE @ 5.

Thursday: Partly Sunny & breezy. High near 70. S/SE @ 10-25.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. South wind 9 to 13 mph.

Friday: Partly Cldy to Cloudy. High near 63. SW-N @ 5-15.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Saturday: P/Cldy. High near 60.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic of 75 beat the record of 74 set in 1917. Our 24-hour Low ending today at 7-a.m. will go down as 25. At 6-a.m. it was 33 degrees. Last year on this date our High was 42 and the Low was 23. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on March 11th was 69 in 1900. The Record Low for this date was -22 in 1948. Sunrise today is at 7:39. Sunset at 7:22.

A nearly 100-year old record High temperature was set in Atlantic, Tuesday. The temperature at the KJAN studios (The Official National Weather Service record-keeping site for Atlantic), reached 75 degrees. The old record of 74, was set in 1917 (98 years ago). We’re on track today (Wednesday), to match or exceed the record High set for today as well. The old record of 69 was set in 1900. The forecast today calls for a high near 70.

331 AM CDT WED MAR 11 2015

EARLY THIS MORNING…CLEAR. NORTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

TODAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. EAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

THURSDAY…SUNNY…BREEZY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 30S.

SATURDAY…SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 60.

Today: Clear to P/Cldy. High near 65. S/SW @ 5-15.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low around 30.

Wednesday: Clear to P/Cldy. High near 63. NE winds becoming SE @ 5-10.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 40.

Thursday: Clear to P/Cldy. High near 65. S @ 10-20.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 62. Our Low this morning, 21. Last year on this date our High was 69, the Low, 29. The All-time Record High in Atlantic on March 10th was 74 in 1917, and the Record Low was -8 in 1948. Sunrise today is at 7:41. Sunset at 7:21.