On Friday at 2:12 p.m. an updated fire weather watch was issued by the National Weather Service valid for Saturday between noon and 9 p.m. The watch is for Palo Duro Canyon as well as Dallam, Sherman, Hansford, Ochiltree, Hartley, Moore, Hutchinson, Roberts, Oldham, Potter, Carson, Gray, Deaf Smith, Randall, Armstrong and Donley counties.

20-foot winds: Southwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

Relative humidity: As low as 10 percent.

Red Flag Threat Index: 2 to 4 mainly in the southwest with RFTI’s of 1 to 3 elsewhere

A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are possible. Listen for later forecasts and possible red flag warnings.

What are 20-foot winds?

20-foot winds are the sustained winds averaged over a 10-minute period at a height of 20 feet above the average height of nearby vegetation.

Red Flag Threat Index

RFTI is a numerical value that indicates the severity of the Red Flag fire conditions.

0 Nil

1-2 Elevated

3-4 Critical Low

5-6 Critical High

7-8 Extremely Critical

9-10 Historically Critical

Source: The National Weather Service