Rare fall red flag warning for all of southern New England

The region has been plagued by forest fires for a week. A triad of abundant dried brush/litter, falling humidity and gusty winds has created a particularly dangerous situation today. Earlier this week, a firefighter sadly died while battling a large fire on Lamentation Mountain in Connecticut, and in the last 24 hours, there have been smaller wildfires in our local communities.

The NWS Boston/Norton's first areawide warning of the year is now in effect for all of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The NWS office in New York also included the state of Connecticut in issuing the alert, following the alert issued for CT earlier this week.

Since 2006, the NWS office has issued only three other red flag warnings during the fall season, the last of which was in 2020. On the other hand, NWS New York had not issued a red flag warning during the fall season for more than 20 years. Red flag warnings are most common throughout southern New England during the spring season, as shown in the frequency tables below.

While some have seen more or less, October rainfall at TF Green is already at just under an inch, already meaning a dry end to September. Since the leaves fall off and the vegetation dies before the start of the cold season, dried out soils encourage the development and spread of forest fires.

If you've ever lit a campfire, you most likely know that starting the fire helps it spread and consume more fuel. Unfortunately, gusty winds can have the same effect on wildfires. With strong winds and low humidity, fires can spread far and quickly, and we are experiencing both today.

Moral of the story: DO NOT burn outside today. While winds will ease, fire danger remains elevated into the early working weeks due to extremely low humidity and increasing dryness of brush.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs provides a great handout that you should have on hand during times of high fire danger.