GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Grand Rapids has issued a Fire Weather Watch until 8:00 this evening for almost the entire viewing area. Only our counties along the Indiana state line are not included in this watch, and that’s probably just because they are under the jurisdiction of the NWS office in northern Indiana who have decided not to issue a watch headline thus far. As you can see via the below image, this watch also includes much of central and northern Lower Michigan.
The NWS has decided to issue this watch due to relative humidities as low as 15 percent. And as you can see in this image, relative humidities are even lower than that in some cases right now:
Wind is also a factor, with gusts up to 25 mph expected today. This could spread any grass fires or wildfires that develop rather quickly. Here is a look at current wind speeds and gusts across the area:
In addition, the leaves still are not out on the trees and there is a lot of dry grass and brush available to act as fuels for any fires that develop. Plus, the past two weeks of April have been rather dry across West Michigan. Although monthly rainfall (which includes melted snow and sleet) is only running about 0.4″ below average, much of West Michigan hasn’t seen significant precipitation in over two weeks:
The high fire danger will continue tomorrow as well, with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s, winds gusting over 30 mph out of the southwest, and low relative humidities continuing. The National Weather Service is also issuing a Red Flag Warning for fire dangers for Tuesday.
Rain, however, is possible on Wednesday and Thursday. Stay tuned to FOX 17 for further updates and until then, be extremely careful with cigarette butts and anything flammable in the outdoors!
