922
FNUS73 KUNR 251039
FWSUNR
SPOT FORECAST FOR QURY...SD-SDS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
439 AM MDT WED MAR 25 2026
FORECAST IS BASED ON FORECAST START TIME OF 0600 MDT ON MARCH 25.
IF CONDITIONS BECOME UNREPRESENTATIVE, CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM
MDT THIS EVENING...
DISCUSSION
VERY WARM AND DRY WEATHER WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL
FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE UPPER 70S
WITH AFTERNOON HUMIDITIES DROPPING TO 15%. WINDS THIS MORNING WILL
BE OUT OF THE NORTHWEST AT 8 TO 10 MPH, GUSTING UP TO 20 MPH.
WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE WEST AFTER ~0900-1000 AND INCREASE IN
STRENGTH (10 TO 15 MPH, GUSTING UP TO 26 MPH).
A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THROUGH THE FIRE SITE LATE THIS EVENING
(AFTER ~2200-2300) WITH WINDS SHIFTING FROM THE WEST TO THE NORTH.
FAIR RH RECOVERY OVERNIGHT WITH THE MAXIMUM HUMIDITY (61%)
REACHED BY 0500 THURSDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE
NIGHT, SHIFTING TO THE NORTH AFTER 3 AM. WINDS WILL BE AT 15 TO 20
MPH, GUSTING UP TO 32 MPH.
MUCH COOLER ON THURSDAY WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 40S AND MINIMUM
HUMIDITIES DROPPING TO AROUND 49%. RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS WILL MOVE
INTO THE AREA BY THE AFTERNOON WITH THE FIRE SITE SEEING ANYWHERE
FROM 0.00-0.05" OF LIQUID PRECIPITATION. WINDS ON THURSDAY WILL
REMAIN BREEZY AND OUT OF THE NORTH TO NORTHEAST (10 TO 15 MPH,
GUSTING TO AROUND 23 MPH).
TODAY
SKY/WEATHER.........SUNNY (20-30 PERCENT).
MAX TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 78.
MIN HUMIDITY........15 PERCENT.
WIND (20 FT)........WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 26
MPH.
CWR.................0 PERCENT.
MIXING HEIGHT.......9000 TO 9500 FT AGL.
TRANSPORT WINDS.....NORTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST 30
TO 35 MPH LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....GOOD INCREASING TO EXCELLENT.
TIME (MDT) 6AM 7AM 8AM 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
SKY (%).........16 15 16 17 15 15 13 15 18 22 28 35
WEATHER COV.....
WEATHER TYPE....
TSTM COV........
CWR.............0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEMP............51 52 56 62 67 69 71 75 76 77 78 75
RH..............47 43 40 34 27 24 22 19 17 16 15 15
20 FT WIND DIR..NW NW NW NW W W W W W W W W
20 FT WIND SPD..10 10 9 8 8 9 10 12 13 14 14 14
20 FT WIND GUST.21 20 20 20 20 21 23 24 25 26 26 26
MIX HGT (KFT)...0.4 0.4 0.4 1.7 3.8 5.4 6.8 7.3 7.6 9.5 8.6 7.9
TRANSP WIND DIR.NW NW NW NW NW W W W W W W W
TRANSP WIND SPD.18 22 24 26 26 26 25 26 26 28 30 31
TONIGHT
SKY/WEATHER.........PARTLY CLOUDY (30-40 PERCENT).
MIN TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 39.
MAX HUMIDITY........61 PERCENT.
WIND (20 FT)........WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTH
15 TO 20 MPH AFTER 3 AM. GUSTS UP TO 28 MPH
INCREASING TO 32 MPH AFTER 3 AM.
CWR.................0 PERCENT.
MIXING HEIGHT.......200 TO 700 FT AGL.
TRANSPORT WINDS.....WEST 30 TO 35 MPH DECREASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH
EARLY IN THE EVENING, THEN SHIFTING TO THE
NORTH 25 TO 30 MPH OVERNIGHT.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....VERY GOOD DECREASING TO POOR.
TIME (MDT) 6PM 7PM 8PM 9PM 10P 11P MID 1AM 2AM 3AM 4AM 5AM
SKY (%).........46 45 43 37 35 29 26 25 26 29 38 42
WEATHER COV.....
WEATHER TYPE....
TSTM COV........
CWR.............0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEMP............72 68 65 62 61 59 58 55 51 48 45 43
RH..............16 19 21 22 24 27 29 34 41 49 57 61
20 FT WIND DIR..W W W W NW NW NW NW N N N N
20 FT WIND SPD..13 12 10 10 10 10 10 14 16 16 17 17
20 FT WIND GUST.25 22 22 20 20 21 21 26 28 30 31 32
MIX HGT (KFT)...4.2 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5
TRANSP WIND DIR.W W W W W W NW NW NW N N N
TRANSP WIND SPD.31 26 21 16 15 16 20 21 23 25 26 28
THURSDAY
SKY/WEATHER.........PARTLY SUNNY (60-70 PERCENT). CHANCE OF RAIN
AND SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
MAX TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 47.
MIN HUMIDITY........49 PERCENT.
WIND (20 FT)........NORTH WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND
35 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH
WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 23 MPH LATE IN THE
AFTERNOON.
CWR.................15 PERCENT.
MIXING HEIGHT.......2500 TO 3000 FT AGL.
TRANSPORT WINDS.....NORTH 20 TO 30 MPH.
SMOKE DISPERSAL.....FAIR.
TIME (MDT) 6AM 7AM 8AM 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
SKY (%).........41 41 46 52 60 68 76 78 80 81 83 84
WEATHER COV..... CHC CHC CHC CHC CHC CHC
WEATHER TYPE.... RN RN RN RN RN RN
TSTM COV........
CWR.............20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
TEMP............42 43 43 44 44 44 44 44 45 45 43 41
RH..............61 57 56 54 54 53 53 52 49 50 53 56
20 FT WIND DIR..N N N N N NE NE NE NE NE NE NE
20 FT WIND SPD..18 18 14 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 12 12
20 FT WIND GUST.35 25 24 24 23 23 23 23 23 23 22 22
MIX HGT (KFT)...0.6 1.1 1.6 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.8 2.9 3.0 2.8 2.5
TRANSP WIND DIR.N N N N N N NE NE NE N N N
TRANSP WIND SPD.29 28 25 24 23 22 21 21 21 21 21 20
FORECASTER...EW
REQUESTED BY...TONY THURNAU
TYPE OF REQUEST...WILDFIRE
.TAG 2607685.0/UNR
.DELDT 03/25/26
.FORMATTERVERSION 2.0.0
.EMAIL TONY.THURNAU@STATE.SD.US
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