(WWTI/WWLP) — The National Weather Service out of Burlington issued a special weather statement for Northern New York. A warning about an elevated risk of brush fires was also issued for Western Massachusetts due to low humidity and gusty winds across the region.
The warnings about the fire weather concerns came Monday. According to the NWS, fire weather concerns exist across the region. This is a result of low relative humidity and gusty northwest winds in the area.
Fire weather, as meteorologists call it, is when the weather has been dry for a long time, which means there is a lot of dry vegetation to act as fuel to fires. When the humidity is very low, as it has been, and winds are breezy, brush fires can ignite and spread much faster. That fast spreading makes the fire much harder to contain. Be careful of how you dispose of smoking materials.
In Northern New York, relative humidities lowered into that same 25% to 35% range as winds gusted up to 25 miles an hour.
This special weather statement includes locations in St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, and Essex counties. New York Residents are also reminded that the New York State burn ban will remain in effect through May 14, 2021.
An elevated fire weather alert is in effect in Western Massachusetts until late afternoon due to the combination of warm afternoon temperatures, relative humidity of 25% to 35%, and northwest winds gusting as high as 35 miles an hour.
The National Weather Service stated:
Dry weather and a good deal of sunshine the past three days has lead to the drying of fine, dead fuels (grass, leaves, twigs and brush) across the St. Lawrence and Champlain Valleys of New York as well as areas in the Northern Adirondacks that are free of snow.
