An elevated wildfire threat will remain in Dallas and much of North Texas next week, according to the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office.
On Saturday, the fire threat continues for much of Central Texas, though winds in the Dallas area will mainly be between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph possible. Sunday will be mostly calm, before the wildfire threat returns to an elevated or critical level Monday through Wednesday, according to the Weather Service. The area of wildfire danger will lie mostly west of the Interstate 35 corridor.
Winds on Monday through Wednesday will mainly be between 10 mph to 20 mph, with some gusts up to 35 mph possible.
Temperatures will be cool this weekend, with highs in the low 70s, before jumping back up to the 80s on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday will return back to highs in the mid 70s before high temperatures even drop to the high 60s on Thursday.
The elevated fire threats come after high winds stirred up dust storms and sparked wildfires in West and North Texas as well as Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. Two wildfires were reported in Wise County: One near Springtown, and the other in Decatur, according to the Wise County Office of Emergency Management.
The dusty and hazy conditions even came to Dallas, creating low visibility and leaving downtown’s skyline somewhat hidden and the sun blocked out. Dust storms and high winds near Amarillo created low visibility conditions and traffic accidents, leaving at least three dead. A traffic accident involving around 38 cars was also reported.
The deaths come as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that triggered deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.
Extreme weather conditions — including hurricane-force winds — are forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people. Winds gusting up to 80 mph (130 kph) were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier areas to the south.
Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state.
More than 200 homes have been damaged or destroyed in Oklahoma due to fire, Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a Saturday news conference. Some 266 square miles (about 69 hectares) have burned so far in his state.
In total, the extreme weather has killed at least 17 people.
SATURDAY: Cooler and breezy with a mix of clouds and sun. Thunderstorms are possible Saturday morning for locations south/east of DFW. High: 72. Wind: SW 5-15 mph, with some gusts up to 25 mph.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny and mild. Not as breezy. Low: 48. High: 71. Wind: N 5 mph.
MONDAY: Breezy and warm with sunshine and a few clouds.Low: 58. High: 82. Wind: SW 5-15 mph, with some gusts up to 25 mph.
TUESDAY: Sun, clouds, breezy and warm. Low: 56. High: 84. Wind: S 15-20 mph, some gusts as high as 35 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy, breezy and cooler.Low: 46. High: 74. Wind: NW 15-20 mph, with some gusts as high as 35 mph.
THURSDAY: Cooler with a mix of sunshine and clouds.Low: 46. High: 68.
FRIDAY: Milder with a few passing clouds, otherwise generally sunny. Low: 53. High: 74.
