RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – The lack of rainfall has allowed a lot of the ground covering and trees to become very dry. Richmond’s current rainfall deficit year-to-date is 3.30″ below average. Humidity levels on Monday will be very low, below 25% at times. Winds will increase during the day (after 9 a.m.), gusting near or above 30 mph at times (through sunset). All of these factors combined with abundant sunshine and warm temperatures will create a high risk of fire danger. This means any spark, or embers from contained fires, will cause brush fires to develop and spread very quickly.
The entire Commonwealth is under a red flag warning from Noon until 8 p.m. on Monday. Just a quick reminder: outdoor burning is only allowed by Virginia law during this time of year between 4 p.m. and Midnight, but is not advised today until after the Red Flag Warning expires.
The latest Virginia Drought Monitor shows some abnormally dry parts of the Commonwealth (in yellow on this map):
Meteorologist Mike Stone
Meteorologist Carrie Rose
