067
FNUS73 KUNR 031514
FWSUNR
SPOT FORECAST FOR 18 MILE...USFS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
814 AM MST TUE MAR 3 2026
FORECAST IS BASED ON IGNITION TIME OF 0900 MST ON MARCH 03.
IF CONDITIONS BECOME UNREPRESENTATIVE, CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.
DISCUSSION
THIS MORNING WILL SEE CLEARING SKIES, WITH RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES IN THE LOW 50S AND LIGHT TERRAIN DRIVEN WINDS.
AS THE DAY PROGRESSES, RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL DECREASE TO A
POTENTIAL LOW AROUND 20 PERCENT BY EARLY AFTERNOON (BASED OFF OF THE
OBSERVATIONS PROVIDED AND CLEARING SKIES). HIGH TEMPERATURE WILL
BE IN THE MID 50S. WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT (5-10 MPH, GUSTING WILL
BE MINIMAL) OUT OF THE NORTHEAST TURNING EAST MIDDAY, THEN
SOUTHEAST AROUND IN THE MID-AFTERNOON. THE SMOKE DISPERSAL FOR
TUESDAY IS EXPECTED TO BE GOOD DURING THE DAY.
WEDNESDAY WILL BE MOSTLY CLEAR WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE AROUND 60.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL POTENTIALLY DROP TO AROUND 20
PERCENT (BASED OFF OF THE OBSERVATIONS PROVIDED). WINDS WILL BE
BREEZY, WITH WEST/SOUTHWEST GUSTS REACHING 15 TO 21 MPH. SOUTH
DAKOTA GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER INDEX WILL BE HIGH FOR THE BURN AREA,
WITH VERY HIGH TO THE EAST ON THE PLAINS. A RED FLAG WARNING IS
POSSIBLE FOR THE PLAINS (FROM HERMOSA TO BUFFALO GAP) AND SOUTHERN
CAMPBELL COUNTY IS WYOMING.
THE NEXT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION
THURSDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING INTO FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT. RAIN WILL BE
THE MAIN PRECIPITATION FOR THE BURN AREA WITH SNOW POSSIBLE DURING
THE NIGHTS OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR WETTING
RAIN FRIDAY, HOWEVER, CONFIDENCE IS LOW DUE TO MODEL VARIATION.
REST OF TODAY
SKY/WEATHER.........MOSTLY SUNNY (35-45 PERCENT).
MAX TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 54.
MIN HUMIDITY........20 PERCENT.
WIND (20 FT)........NORTH WINDS AROUND 5 MPH SHIFTING TO THE
NORTHEAST LATE IN THE MORNING, THEN SHIFTING TO
THE EAST WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 10 MPH EARLY IN
THE AFTERNOON SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST LATE IN
THE AFTERNOON.
CWR.................0 PERCENT.
MIXING HEIGHT.......5600 TO 6100 FT AGL.
TRANSPORT WINDS.....NORTH 10 TO 15 MPH SHIFTING TO THE EAST LATE IN
THE AFTERNOON.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....GOOD.
TIME (MST) 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
SKY (%).........59 49 34 28 26 25 21 21 18
WEATHER COV.....
WEATHER TYPE....
TSTM COV........
CWR.............0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEMP............40 44 49 52 53 54 54 54 51
RH..............45 36 27 23 21 20 21 23 24
20 FT WIND DIR..N N NE E E SE SE SE SE
20 FT WIND SPD..3 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 5
20 FT WIND GUST.7 9 8 10 10 10 10 9 8
MIX HGT (KFT)...1.4 2.4 3.8 4.8 5.3 6.1 5.5 4.3 1.8
TRANSP WIND DIR.N N N N N N NE E SE
TRANSP WIND SPD.10 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10
TONIGHT
SKY/WEATHER.........MOSTLY CLEAR (5-15 PERCENT).
MIN TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 34.
MAX HUMIDITY........61 PERCENT.
WIND (20 FT)........SOUTHEAST WINDS AROUND 5 MPH SHIFTING TO THE
SOUTH OVERNIGHT, THEN SHIFTING TO THE WEST
OVERNIGHT SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST AFTER 3 AM.
CWR.................0 PERCENT.
MIXING HEIGHT.......400 TO 900 FT AGL.
TRANSPORT WINDS.....SOUTHEAST AROUND 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST
AFTER 3 AM.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....POOR.
TIME (MST) 6PM 7PM 8PM 9PM 10P 11P MID 1AM 2AM 3AM 4AM 5AM
SKY (%).........15 11 9 7 4 7 5 2 4 3 3 2
WEATHER COV.....
WEATHER TYPE....
TSTM COV........
CWR.............0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEMP............47 44 41 39 38 37 35 34 34 34 34 34
RH..............30 35 39 42 46 48 52 56 58 61 58 61
20 FT WIND DIR..SE SE E SE SE SE S W NW NW NW NW
20 FT WIND SPD..3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 5 5
20 FT WIND GUST.9 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 8 8 8 9
MIX HGT (KFT)...0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
TRANSP WIND DIR.SE SE SE SE S S S SW SW W W W
TRANSP WIND SPD.10 9 9 8 7 7 6 6 7 8 9 10
WEDNESDAY
SKY/WEATHER.........SUNNY (5-15 PERCENT).
MAX TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 60.
MIN HUMIDITY........20 PERCENT.
WIND (20 FT)........WEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 21
MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHWEST WITH GUSTS TO
AROUND 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
CWR.................0 PERCENT.
MIXING HEIGHT.......5100 TO 5600 FT AGL.
TRANSPORT WINDS.....WEST 15 TO 25 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHWEST
AROUND 15 MPH LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....GOOD.
TIME (MST) 6AM 7AM 8AM 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
SKY (%).........7 9 8 8 7 4 3 2 3 6 9 17
WEATHER COV.....
WEATHER TYPE....
TSTM COV........
CWR.............0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEMP............34 37 40 44 49 53 57 59 60 60 59 57
RH..............58 56 48 43 35 30 25 22 20 21 22 23
20 FT WIND DIR..NW W W W W W W W W SW SW SW
20 FT WIND SPD..5 6 6 7 8 9 10 10 10 9 7 6
20 FT WIND GUST.9 9 10 13 16 20 21 21 20 17 15 13
MIX HGT (KFT)...0.5 0.5 0.5 1.1 1.6 2.2 3.3 4.4 5.6 3.9 2.2 0.5
TRANSP WIND DIR.W W W W W W W W W SW SW S
TRANSP WIND SPD.12 12 14 16 18 21 21 21 20 17 15 13
FORECAST DAYS 3 THROUGH 7
THURSDAY
MOSTLY CLOUDY. CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON/EVENING.
LOWS IN THE UPPER 30S. HIGHS AROUND 60. WEST WINDS AROUND 10 MPH.
FRIDAY
MUCH COLDER. CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. LOWS IN THE LOWER 30S.
HIGHS IN THE UPPER 30S. NORTH WINDS AROUND 10 MPH.
SATURDAY
PARTLY CLOUDY. CHANCE OF SNOW. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S. HIGHS IN
THE MID 40S. WEST WINDS AROUND 15 MPH.
SUNDAY
PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE LOWER 30S. HIGHS IN THE MID 50S.
MONDAY
PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE LOWER 30S. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S.
FORECASTER...CS
REQUESTED BY...CHRIS BENNETT
TYPE OF REQUEST...PRESCRIBED
.TAG 2604246.5/UNR
.DELDT 03/03/26
.FORMATTERVERSION 2.0.0
.EMAIL CHRISTOPHER.BENNETT@USDA.GOV
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