On Wednesday at 3:06 a.m. the National Weather Service released a fire weather watch valid for Thursday between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. The watch is for Palo Duro Canyon as well as Hemphill, Potter, Carson, Gray, Wheeler, Randall, Armstrong, Donley and Collingsworth counties.

20-foot winds: Southwest 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.

Relative humidity: As low as 8 percent.

Red Flag Threat Index: 5 to 7

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