Vermont Fire Weather Alerts Today, Dry, Windy Weather Raises Concerns

Whatever you do today, don't do this in and around
Vermont. Red flag warnings are up for parts of the
area due to high fire danger. (Yes, this is my brush
 pile burning several months ago, but it was done
on a wet day with a burn permit in hand).

The lack of rain, lots of sunshine, low humidity in the air and gusty winds today has prompted a red flag warning for parts of Vermont for today.  

We've been talking about the dry spring weather in this here blog thingy for some time now, and it looks like we will be watching it for quite awhile yet.  Today will be the worst day we've had so far this spring in terms of fire danger. 

A storm off the New England coast has pushed westward toward the coast a bit over the past day or so. Meanwhile, high pressure to the northwest is trying to nose in.

Those two systems fighting with each other has increased the pressure gradient between the high and the storm off the coast.  North winds will pick up to between 10 and 20 mph with gusts to at least  30 mph. 

A ribbon of especially dry air will flow down the Champlain Valley and into southern Vermont. Winds flowing down the slopes of the Green Mountains will dry the air out further as they reach the Connecticut Valley. 

Those two areas are the focal point for today's fire danger. The red flag warning is up for the Champlain Valley, the Connecticut Valley from roughly Wells River south, and the southern two counties of Vermont. 

This means any fires that start in these regions this afternoon could spread rapidly and be hard to control.  You'd be surprised how fast a small grass fire could spread and threaten barns, sheds and even homes. I'm sure most towns in Vermont are not issuing burn permits today, or this week for that matter. 

In the Northeast Kingdom, that storm off the coast will spread in clouds, higher humidities and perhaps a sprinkle, so the red flag warning is not up for those locations. Still, it IS still dry enough in the NEK to have a fire risk today, so even up there, be careful. Higher elevations along the Green Mountains still have snow on the ground, so those areas are safe from fire, at least for now. 

Fire danger will diminish somewhat, but not go away during the upcoming week as winds become lighter, and the humidity comes up a bit, at least on some days. 

However, dry fuels like last year's weeds, brush and leaves will continue to dry out under persistent fair weather. 

Toward the middle and end of the week, you'll see a nice, big, fat storm take shape over the upper Midwest.  You'd think, "Great! Those storms almost always come east and we'll get some rain."

Not this time, I'm afraid.  Unless current forecasts are off, strong - and oddly warm for this time of year - high pressure over Quebec will push the storm and its moisture to the south and east, keeping us dry.  That dry weather could possibly last through next weekend. 

It will warm up as the week goes on, too.  Many of us will see highs well into the 60s toward the end of the week, at a time of year when afternoon temperatures are typically only near 50 degrees.

It looks like most early plants survived the chill over the weekend, and spring continues on much earlier than normal.  Buds on the trees will continue to swell, and I would also issue a blooming daffodil advisory for later in the week. 

This means the threat of brush fires, seemingly ever present this spring, will continue.  And current drought conditions will probably worsen as well.