First Alert: Breezy weather all week, fire weather concerns too

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The week ahead will be breezy to just plain windy. Each and every day through Saturday will feature sustained wind speeds of 10-20 mph.

Daily wind gusts Wednesday through Saturday will reach 20-30 mph. Some stronger gusts will be possible as well.

These are not going to be damaging winds, but they will be strong enough to knock some branches off of trees and blow around unsecured lawn and Halloween decorations. So if you’re like me and already have those spooky season inflatables out, make sure they are either anchored down well or bring them indoors this week.

The breeziness will be a result of the combination of Hurricane Ian to the south and a strong area of high pressure to our north. Since we’re going to be between the two, there will be what’s called a tight pressure gradient in place.

Any time you are located between an area of high pressure and low pressure there is usually an uptick in wind speed. It’s just this go-around the breezy to windy conditions will last many days.

When you combine persistently breezy conditions to a dry forecast, a dry ground and low relatively humidity the result can mean elevated fire danger. It has been quite some time since fire danger was mentioned in the forecast, but it is there for Tuesday and Wednesday especially.

It’s unlikely that we reach official Red Flag Warning criteria. However, the fire risk will be elevated given all of the conditions that will be in place.

The things to keep in mind remain the same as with any other elevated fire risk:

• Avoid outdoor burning if possible
• Don’t throw cigarettes outside
• Be aware that fires will spread quickly should they develop

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