122
FNUS21 KWNS 191626
FWDDY1
DAY 1 FIRE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1025 AM CST THU FEB 19 2026
VALID 191700Z - 201200Z
..CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER AREA FOR PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
..MORNING UPDATE
CRITICAL HIGHLIGHTS WERE SHIFTED FARTHER SOUTH INTO THE RED RIVER
VALLEY AND NORTH TEXAS FOR THE DAY 1 UPDATE. POOR OVERNIGHT MOISTURE
RECOVERY ACROSS THE TEXAS PANHANDLE AND OKLAHOMA COMBINED WITH
WEST-NORTHWESTERLY 20-25 MPH WINDS (30-40 MPH GUSTS) AND 10-15
PERCENT RH BY PEAK HEATING WILL PROMOTE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE OBSERVED OUN SOUNDING
PORTRAYED 50 KNOT WINDS JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE, SO AS DAYTIME MIXING
OCCURS, THE REGION COULD SEE STRONGER LOCALIZED WIND GUSTS. A COLD
FRONT WILL PASS OVER THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE/NW OKLAHOMA LATE THIS
MORNING AND AFTERNOON GRADUALLY SHIFTING WINDS NORTHERLY, BRINGING
IN COOLER TEMPERATURES AND HIGHER DEWPOINTS LEADING TO A REPRIEVE IN
FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. ELEVATED HIGHLIGHTS HAVE ALSO BEEN EXTENDED
ACROSS EASTERN NEW MEXICO TO ACCOUNT FOR OBSERVED WESTERLY DOWNSLOPE
WINDS OF 20-25 MPH AND 15-20 PERCENT RH ATOP RECEPTIVE FUELS.
..ELIZALDE-GARCIA/WILLIAMS.. 02/19/2026
PREV DISCUSSION
/ISSUED 0122 AM CST THU FEB 19 2026/
..SYNOPSIS
THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF MID-LEVEL IMPULSES, EMBEDDED WITHIN A
BROADER UPPER TROUGHING PATTERN, WILL OVERSPREAD THE CENTRAL PLAINS
TODAY, ENCOURAGING A SURFACE LOW TO TRACK FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS
TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES REGION. AS THIS OCCURS, THE COMBINATION OF
DRY DOWNSLOPE FLOW FROM THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES, AND GRADIENT FLOW
DRIVEN BY THE SURFACE LOW, SHOULD PROMOTE WARM, DRY AND WINDY
CONDITIONS AHEAD OF A SOUTHWARD-SURGING COLD FRONT. ACROSS THE TEXAS
PANHANDLE INTO OKLAHOMA AND MISSOURI, 20-25 MPH SUSTAINED
WEST-NORTHWESTERLY WINDS MAY COINCIDE WITH 15 PERCENT RH FOR AT
LEAST A FEW HOURS THIS AFTERNOON. CRITICAL HIGHLIGHTS HAVE BEEN
MAINTAINED SINCE THESE SURFACE METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WILL
OVERSPREAD DRY FUELS. SOME AREAS FROM NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS INTO
MISSOURI HAVE RECEIVED APPRECIABLE RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OVER THE
PAST WEEK. NONETHELESS, FINER FUELS HAVE MORE RECENTLY EXPERIENCED
DRY CONDITIONS, POTENTIALLY INCREASING THEIR RECEPTIVENESS TO
WILDFIRE SPREAD. FARTHER SOUTH ACROSS WESTERN TEXAS, SURFACE WINDS
SHOULD ONLY PEAK IN THE 15-20 MPH RANGE, AMID 20 PERCENT RH,
WARRANTING ELEVATED HIGHLIGHTS.
..PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/FIRE FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT
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