With a period of unseasonably warm weather and a lack of rain, the National Weather Service has issued a weather alert for elevated wildfire risks over the last several days, and there isn’t much respite in the future.
The special weather statement — the latest issued Monday morning — asks that the public use caution when handling and disposing of ignition sources; outdoor burning is also not recommended.
Meteorologists with the weather service said that the ground is dry across the state with temperatures that have been close to 70 degrees over the last few weeks, a rarity this late in October. Meanwhile, leaves have started to fall, leaving fuel for any wildfire.
“It’s like a matchstick because there hasn’t been much rain and we’ve had such high temperatures,” said meteorologist Andrew Loconto. “Until we can get a significant amount of rain, we’ll continue to warn about wildfires.”
Monday is an upgrade from the weekend. The weather service had issued a red-flag warning for Saturday — a critical wildfire warning — with the addition of windy weather to the dry conditions. Winds for Monday are forecasted to be lighter.
There is a slight chance of rain for Tuesday and Friday, but unlikely enough to help much, Loconto said. He noted that temperatures aren’t dropping either: Thursday is forecasted to be near 70 degrees again in Edgartown.
Earth had hottest August in 175 years
of keeping records.
Let’s work together to
install more windmills and solar panels.
https://www.noaa.gov/news/earth-had-its-hottest-august-in-175-year-record#:~:text=June–August%202024%20was%20the,a%20degree%20C)%20above%20average.
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