High risk of fire, wind damage and heavy storms on the horizon

Springfield, Mo (KY3)-A large system with low pressure will be strengthened on Friday at the historical level, which brings numerous dangers.

Of strong winds damage an increased risk of fire and the potential for severe storms many preparations.

“We will have fire. It may be in Ozark County or be in Polk County, but there will be fires and prepared so, ”said Rich Stirt, head of the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District.

The continued drought, dry and resting plants and extremely strong winds of up to 70 miles per hour in gusts are a dangerous combination.

“So far we have had a few fire days this year that have led to many fires, and the conditions were not even as bad as tomorrow,” said Raychel Nelson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Springfield.

The NWS meteorologists prepare for the many potential dangers. They plan to increase your employees to cover the extent of this system.

Fire risk is an important problem, but the strong winds could achieve serious criteria – even without storms.

“Since we usually exhibit heavy thunderstorms when thunderstorms produce so high, this usually means that they can cause any kind of damage,” said Nelson.

Nelson recommends taking a few minutes to eliminate the limbs dissolved from previous windy days and to bring decorations or garden equipment indoors because they can become projectile.

There are also some precautionary measures to take vehicles so as not to accidentally start a fire.

First and foremost, make sure that your tires are completely inflated. An edge that hardly touches the ground can be sparked to a spark that turns into a brush fire.

Avoid parking on dry grass and a hot cock tube can be the ignition that a fire needs. Shorten the chain lengths when dragging a trailer to avoid sparks.

“Actually, we had a small fire on the side of the road because a piece of metal came from a trailer and shaken along the street and set the grass on fire,” recalled Starts.

“I saw many fires in my career that started from someone who snapped the cigarette piston out of the window,” said Darren White, Deputy Director of Green County Oem.

All fires that run shape will be difficult to control. The international association of Wildland Fire says that a good rule of thumb is that fires are distributed to around 10% of the ongoing wind speed.

With surface winds at 30 to 40 miles per hour, this means that a fire can spread at 3 to 8 miles per hour and quickly moves from open fields to houses.

“Many of the fires we see climb into buildings from small grass fires in the courtyard that burn against the house, and it doesn't take as dry as it was,” said Stirts.

Try to protect your house, to limit the dry vegetation nearby and to be prepared for the many dangers on Friday.

Information on current conditions or a live view of the radar can be found in our free Ky3 First Alert Weather app.

To report a correction or a typo, please send an e -mail to digitalnews@ky3.com. Please indicate the item information in the subject line of the e -mail.

Copyright 2025 Ky3. All rights reserved.