A red flag warning has been issued for several East Coast states, as strong winds due to unseasonably warm weather and dry and windy conditions plaguing the region.
The National Weather Service (NWS) showed alerts in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
A red flag warning is issued when a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and dry fuels will create a significantly elevated fire growth potential.
New York City, including Long Island and lower Hudson Valley, have also been placed under the alert after the region was declared a ‘drought watch’ last week.
The red flag warning will remain in effect until 6pm ET.
West winds of five to 15 miles per hour with gusts up to 30 miles per hour and relative humidity as low as 28 percent are expected today.
The combination of factors ‘create a significantly elevated fire growth potential,’ sparking fires that can spread fast without warning.
A red flag warning has been issued for several East Coast states as strong winds due to unseasonably warm weather and dry and windy conditions plaguing the region
The red flag warning was largely due to record droughts plaguing the nation, which officials said are the worst in decades.
The East Coast has not had rain in more than one month, creating optimal conditions for wildfires that have sparked in New Jersey and Connecticut.
New Jersey is battling at least four brush fires that sparked Thursday night, but Connecticut has dealt with more than 100 blazes in the last month.
To combat the fire, the Connecticut National Guard and Maine Forestry Division has deployed water drops using a Chinook and Black Hawk helicopter.
The Baltimore/Washington is also expected to see an elevated fire risk in portions of central and northern Maryland and northern eastern Virginia.
The red flag warning will go into effect at 12pm ET and last until 6pm ET.
Western Massachusetts , including Boston, are also under a red flag warning, along with southern parts of Delaware.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed this week that this is the worst drought in 25 year, reaching every state except for Alaska and Kentucky.
The National Weather Service (NWS) showed alerts in Delaware , Maryland , Pennsylvania , New York, Virginia , Connecticut and Massachusetts. Residents have been placed under burn restrictions to avoid wildfires
The red flag warning was largely due to a record drought sweeping the nation, with the East Coast not seeing rain in over a month
Several states have asked residents to cut their water consumption by reducing shower times, not watering their lawns and flushing the toilet less to conserve resources.
The situation was so severe in Pennsylvania it led to a lake drying up and revealed the remnants of a 200-year-old bridge.
NOAA described the event as a ‘flash drought’ which is brought on by lower-than-normal precipitation, abnormally high temperatures and heavy winds.
‘Although droughts usually develop slowly over the course of months and years, a flash drought rapidly intensifies over the course of a few weeks to a couple of months,’ said Caily Schwartz, a scientist at the Global Water Security Center at the University of Alabama.
According to the Southeast Regional Climate Center, at least 100 weather stations throughout the US recorded no rain for the entire month of October.
Impacted areas also include New York City where Mayor Eric Adams urged residents on Saturday to conserve every drop of water possible by reducing the number of times they flush the toilet, taking shorter showers and not letting the water run while brushing their teeth.
The warning stems from reservoirs in upstate New York that are used by the city and are now less than two-thirds full, down from their usual three-quarter levels at this time of year.
However, forecasters have shown a slight chance of showers after 1pm on Sunday for much of regions under the red flag warning.
The chances are expected to hit 80 percent by Sunday night, with precipitation accumulating up to half of an inch.
