FNUS74 KLZK 232358 FWSLZK SPOT FORECAST FOR MCCUTCHEON GAP...NPS BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 558 PM CST THU FEB 23 2012 FORECAST IS BASED ON REQUEST TIME OF 1741 CST ON FEBRUARY 23. IF CONDITIONS BECOME UNREPRESENTATIVE...CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FRIDAY... .DISCUSSION... ...BREEZY WEST AND SOUTHWEST WINDS COMBINED WITH VERY DRY AIR HAVE CREATED HAZARDOUS WILDFIRE CONDITIONS ACROSS MUCH OF THE WESTERN HALF OF THE STATE... MIN RH VALUES HAVE DROPPED TO BELOW 25 PERCENT ACROSS A LARGE PORTION OF THE RED FLAG AREA...WITH SOME LOCATIONS SEEING RH VALUES IN THE TEENS THIS AFTERNOON. THESE DRY CONDITIONS...COMBINED WITH WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH AND FREQUENT GUSTS TO OVER 30 MPH...HAVE CREATED HAZARDOUS WILDFIRE CONDITIONS. OUTDOOR BURNING IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED AS ANY FIRES COULD SPREAD EASILY AND RAPIDLY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE STATE LATE THIS AFTERNOON...WITH WINDS SWITCHING TO THE WEST AND NORTHWEST. HOWEVER...WINDS WILL REMAIN BREEZY BEHIND THE FRONT...WITH THE HAZARDOUS WILDFIRE THREAT LIKELY TO PERSIST FOR MUCH OF FRIDAY AFTERNOON. AS A RESULT...A FIRE WEATHER WATCH OR RED FLAG WARNING MAY BE ISSUED THIS EVENING OR OVERNIGHT FOR THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON WILDFIRE HAZARDS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH CALMER CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR THE WEEKEND. THIS HIGH PRESSURE WILL SLIDE TO THE EAST BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH MOISTURE LEVELS STARTING TO INCREASE ON SUNDAY. PRECIP CHANCES WILL RETURN TO THE FORECAST EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH THE BEST CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. .TONIGHT... SKY/WEATHER.........PARTLY CLOUDY (35-45 PERCENT). TEMPERATURE.........63 AT REQUEST...MIN 33. RH..................35 PERCENT AT REQUEST...MAX 57 PERCENT. CHANCE OF PCPN......10 PERCENT. EYE LEVEL WINDS.....NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 12 MPH. TRANSPORT WINDS.....NORTHWEST 39 TO 48 MPH. STABILITY CLASS.....4. 20-FOOT WINDS.......WINDS NORTHWEST AT 12 MPH AT REQUEST...OTHERWISE NORTHWEST WINDS 13 TO 16 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. TIME (CST) 6PM 7PM 8PM 9PM 10P 11P MID 1AM 2AM 3AM 4AM 5AM SKY (%).........PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC WEATHER COV..... WEATHER TYPE.... TEMP............63 60 56 53 51 49 47 45 43 42 40 39 RH..............35 39 43 48 47 46 45 47 49 52 54 55 20 FT WIND DIR..NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW 20 FT WIND SPD..16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 14 13 13 20 FT WIND GUST.30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 EYE LVL WND DIR.NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW EYE LVL WND SPD.10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 8 8 8 EYE LVL WND GST.15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 TRANSP WIND DIR.NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW TRANSP WIND SPD.39 39 39 39 43 45 48 48 48 46 44 41 CHC OF PCPN (%).0 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 .FRIDAY... SKY/WEATHER.........MOSTLY SUNNY (30-40 PERCENT). TEMPERATURE.........MAX 48. RH..................MIN 34 PERCENT. CHANCE OF PCPN......0 PERCENT. EYE LEVEL WINDS.....NORTHWEST WINDS 9 TO 10 MPH. TRANSPORT WINDS.....NORTHWEST 30 TO 39 MPH DECREASING TO AROUND 29 MPH LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. MIXING HEIGHT.......BECOMING 6300 FT MSL. STABILITY CLASS.....3. 20-FOOT WINDS.......NORTHWEST WINDS 12 TO 14 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. TIME (CST) 6AM 7AM 8AM 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM SKY (%).........PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC MCR MCR MCR MCR WEATHER COV..... WEATHER TYPE.... TEMP............39 38 39 40 42 43 45 46 46 47 46 46 RH..............56 57 54 50 46 42 39 37 35 34 34 34 20 FT WIND DIR..NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW 20 FT WIND SPD..12 12 12 13 13 14 14 14 14 14 13 12 20 FT WIND GUST.25 25 25 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 25 EYE LVL WND DIR.NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW EYE LVL WND SPD.7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 EYE LVL WND GST.13 13 13 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 13 MIX HGT (KFT)... TRANSP WIND DIR.NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW NW TRANSP WIND SPD.39 36 33 31 31 32 32 32 31 30 30 29 CHC OF PCPN (%).0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $$ FORECASTER...58 REQUESTED BY...COLLEEN BREEDLOVE TYPE OF REQUEST...WILDFIRE .TAG 20120223.MCCUT.01/LZK