An updated fire weather watch was released by the National Weather Service on Wednesday at 7:04 p.m. valid for Thursday between noon and 8 p.m. for Dallam and Hartley counties.

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

Relative humidity: As low as 8 percent.

Red Flag Threat Index: 3 to 6

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