Public Information Statement
... Public information statement...
... Continuing severe weather awareness week in Louisiana...
This mornings topics are drought & fire weather...
Drought and wildfires seem to go hand in hand. Over the years...
wildfires have claimed hundreds of thousands of acres across Texas...
Oklahoma and portions of Louisiana and Arkansas. Unfortunately... the
current La Nina pattern favors warmer and drier than normal
conditions across the four state region... and the climate
prediction center continues to maintain above normal probabilities
for above normal temperatures across all of the four state
region through late Spring... as well as above normal probabilities
for below normal rainfall across East Texas and north Louisiana.
Severe to extreme drought conditions continue to plague all of the
four state region... and the potential for above normal
temperatures and below normal rainfall this Spring as a result of
the ongoing La Nina pattern will only aggravate the ongoing
drought... while also enhancing the potential wildfire threat.
We should not let down our guard. Wildfires can occur during any
year... even wet ones. And not all wildfires are the same. As a matter
of fact... the weather largely dictates fire behavior... controlling
how quickly a fire spreads... how hot and how long the flames grow...
and whether the fire is able to jump a Road or other barrier.
Temperature... humidity and wind are the controlling parameters that
affect fire behavior.
In some cases... National Weather Service meteorologists are tasked
with forecasting weather conditions near an ongoing wildfire. These
forecasts help firefighters develop a strategy to fight the fire with
greater efficiency and safety. A sudden shift in wind direction can
put fire fighters in great danger... possibly blowing flames or
suffocating smoke in their direction. This type of forecasting has
its own name... a fire weather forecast. A local wildfire forecast is
commonly called a spot forecast due to the small area of interest.
The National Weather Service would like to thank everyone involved in
making severe weather awareness week a Success.
&&
For more details on some of the significant severe weather events
across the four state region dating back to the 1978 Shreveport F4
tornado... please visit... www.Srh.NOAA.Gov/shv/events/
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