How Dry I Am: Right After The Snow, A Fire Risk

A brush fire near Interstate 89 in Colchester, Vermont last 
month. Photo via WCAX. There's a risk of more brush
fires starting today and continuing through much of
the upcoming week due to continued dry conditions.

There was still some snow on the ground outside my St. Albans, Vermont home this morning on a very chilly April morning. 

 It was cold as 2 above zero in Saranac Lake, New York and 7 degrees in Island Pond, Vermont. 

Believe it or not, though, there's a fire danger out there today for the region. 

A lot of places in Vermont and northern New York got very little or no snow Thursday.  In most valleys there's no snow on the ground.  

Although things got a wet down with that last storm, the relative humidity was low yesterday amid north breezes.  

This drying out the brush and dead grass and stuff very quickly.  That fast drying process will continue today amid lots of sunshine and bone dry humidity levels today.  

Even in places like where I live, any remaining snow will quickly melt and leftover water will evaporate quickly today. 

The National Weather Service in South Burlington put out a special weather statement early today warning against open burning and being careful with sparks and flames.

In Vermont, there's no statewide burn ban currently, but you'd have to be nuts to set your brush pile alight today or anytime in the upcoming week if not longer. Many individual Vermont towns currently have burn bans

There's a burn ban in New York through May 14.

In all except far northern New Hampshire today, there's a full fledged red flag warning for what is described as a critical fire risk today. The warning states: Dry weather and some wind combined with dry surface fuels may lead to extensive fire occurrence or rapid fire growth during the daylight hours."

For the nation as a whole, it does seem to be turning out to be a fiery spring.  There have been numerous rangeland and wildfires in the Great Plains and parts of the Midwest. Fire danger is high out in that neck of the woods today amid dry weather and near record high temperatures.  

A few early season fires have broken out in California. And last month in New Jersey, a forest fire spread into neighborhoods and commercial districts, burning down a few businesses, slightly damaging several homes and forcing evacuations. 

Back here in Vermont and surrounding areas, we'll have to be watching the fire risk a  at least through Thursday.

A storm well off the Maine coast will probably back up westward a bit, spreading some rain into Maine and perhaps northern New Hampshire.

For the rest of us though, that offshore storm, and high pressure to the west will pull in dry air from southern Canada.  We face a week of sunshine, parched air and some breezes. Nice early spring weather, absolutely! 

Just not great if there's people around who are careless with fire, ashes, cigarettes and the like.