Powerful winds and wildfire warnings persist in several states, with some areas still fighting existing flames, as a new cross-country storm emerges in the Pacific Northwest on Friday.
Red flag warnings are in place for areas in the Southwest, including New Mexico and north-central Texas, where wind gusts will reach up to 40 mph on Friday paired with a relative humidity down to 10%.
Firefighters have continued to battle the Gail Fire in New Mexico, which had burned 108 acres and was 25% contained as of Friday, officials said.
The southern half of Missouri and northern half of Arkansas also face red flag warnings on Friday, with wind gusts up to 45 mph and a relative humidity of 20% to 25%.
According to the Arkansas Forestry Division, 96 wildfires statewide have been contained, but four new wildfires are active.
“We are mobilizing all resources and working closely with local, state and federal partners,” the forestry division said in a statement on Friday.
Southeast Florida also remains under fire weather alerts, with red flag warnings in place from Orlando to Stuart and elevated fire dangers from West Palm Beach down to Miami. The humidity will be as low as 20% in these parts of the state, creating ideal conditions for existing fires to spread.
U.S. 1 in Florida shut down in both directions on Friday due to low visibility from the 344 wildfire in Miami-Dade County, according to the county’s emergency management agency.
The development came after four people, including a child, were injured in a multivehicle crash earlier Friday on U.S. 1, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
As of Friday afternoon, the 344 wildfire has burned 25,000 acres and is 30% contained, officials said. It is burning in largely unoccupied parts of the Everglades.
Along with the threat of wildfires, other parts of the country will experience frigid temperatures, with central Mississippi, nearly all of Alabama and most of Georgia under frost and freeze warnings on Friday.
As the weekend progresses, a new cross-country storm will bring strong winds to the Midwest, heavy snow to the North and severe storms to the South.
The storm will begin with rain and mountain snow throughout the Pacific Northwest on Friday. Oregon is expected to be hit with 10 inches of snow in the mountains during the day and into the evening Friday. Idaho and western Montana should expect 8 to 16 inches of snow Friday night into Saturday morning.
By Sunday, strong to severe winds of up to 40 to 60 mph are expected across the Great Plains and upper Midwest, creating a threat for dust storms, ground blizzards and the destruction of power lines and trees.
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