CENTRAL UNITED STATES — The National Weather Service has placed more than 15 million people across the central United States under fire weather alerts through Friday, April 24, 2026. Roughly 3.8 million people face critical fire weather conditions on Thursday.
The critical risk area covers parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Broader sections of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma, along with parts of Arizona, South Dakota and Wyoming, are under elevated fire weather conditions. Several moderately populous metropolitan areas inside the risk area include Albuquerque, Denver, El Paso, Amarillo and Pierre.
A storm system moving into central states on Thursday will bring wind gusts of up to 50 to 60 mph to the Southern Plains, meteorologist Nikki Nolan said. Relative humidity values in the region are expected to sink to single-digit values. Temperatures across the central and eastern United States on Thursday are forecast to be 15 to 25 degrees above average for this time of year.
Meteorologists define critical fire weather conditions as those that create favorable environments for wildfires to develop. Criteria include high temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds, a mixture that generally triggers red flag warnings. Drought conditions in the United States have reached record heights.
The weather service issues red flag warnings or fire weather watches when dry fuels and weather conditions support extreme fire danger. Red flag warnings indicate critical fire weather conditions are occurring or expected to occur shortly, while fire weather watches are issued when such conditions are forecast to occur in the more distant future.