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NWS Forecasts Severe Weather, Flooding Threats Across Central US, Fire Weather Risks in Western US

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The US National Weather Service on Friday said parts of central US will continue to experience severe weather and flooding threats, with the potential for flash flooding in the region stretching from southern Kansas to southwestern Missouri.

The Great Basin and Southwest regions are likely to see the development of extremely critical fire weather conditions on Friday, while the southern and central US will see intensifying dangerous heat this weekend.

The NWS early Friday issued a red flag warning for almost the entirety of Utah, except for parts of Park City, Vernal and Duchesne. Utah primarily falls under the service area of PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power.

Affected areas in Colorado include Craig, Rangely, Meeker, Steamboat Springs, Vail, Kremmling, Rifle, Grand Junction, Aspen, Montrose, Gunnison, Nucla, Telluride, Cortez, Durango, Lake City, Pagosa Springs, Granby, Georgetown, Fairplay, and parts of Boulder and Fort Collins.

Xcel Energy (XEL) and Black Hills (BKH) unit Black Hills Energy are the primary electricity service providers in Colorado.

A similar warning was raised for almost all of Arizona barring Phoenix, Gila Bend, Dateland, Wickenburg, and parts of Parker and Yuma. The state is primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company, and UNS Energy subsidiaries Unisource and Tucson Electric Power.

A red flag warning was also issued for Las Vegas, Beatty, Caliente, Tonopah, Hawthorne, Reno, Lovelock, Fallon, Austin, Eureka, Ely, Montello, and Wells. These places primarily fall under the areas served by Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary NV Energy.

In California, a red flag warning was raised for Bishop, Death Valley, Baker, Barstow, Twentynine Palms, Tehachapi, Bakersfield, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Edwards AFB, Frazier Park, and parts of Blythe, Susanville, and El Centro Imperial.

These location are primarily served by Edison International's (EIX) Southern California Edison and PG&E (PCG) unit Pacific Gas and Electric.

Also placed under a warning for fire weather conditions were Idaho's Stanley, Mountain Home, Jerome, Caldwell, Boise, Twin Falls, Sun Valley, Shoshone, and Hailey, where Idacorp's (IDA) Idaho Power is the primary service provider.

Oregon's Baker City, Burns, Ontario, and Jordan Valley, which primarily fall under the service area of Idaho Power, were also covered under the red flag warning watch.

In Kansas, the NWS issued a flash flood warning for Wichita, El Dorado, Eureka, Howard, Iola, and areas near Great Bend, Arkansas City, and Coffeyville, while a flood warning was raised for Hutchinson, Wellington, Kingman, Fredonia, and parts of Arkansas City, Iola, Eureka, and Coffeyville. Evergy (EVRG) is among the major service providers in the state.

A flash flood warning was also issued for Missouri's Poplar Bluff and Joplin, while Nevada, Sedalia, Boonville, and Columbia were among the places covered under a flood warning watch. Evergy, Ameren's (AEE) Missouri unit, and Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) subsidiary Liberty are the major service providers in Missouri.

In Illinois, a flash flood warning was raised for areas near Carbondale and Mount Vernon, while a flood warning was issued for Olney, Carmi, Princeton, Peoria, Peru, Canton, Pekin, Havana, Jacksonville and areas near Carlinville and those border Indiana.

Ameren's Illinois unit and Exelon (EXC) subsidiary ComEd are among the major service providers in Illinois.

A flood warning was also raised for Oklahoma's Grove, Bartlesville, and Ponca City. OGE Energy (OGE) unit Oklahoma Gas & Electric and American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary Public Service Co. of Oklahoma are the major electric utility service providers in the state.

Affected areas in Louisiana include Jennings, Lake Charles, Glenmora, Villa Plate, Marksville, Opelousas, and areas near Monroe, Shreveport, and those bordering Mississippi and Arkansas. Entergy's (ETR) Louisiana unit, American Electric Power's Southwestern Electric Power Company, and Cleco are among the major service providers in Louisiana.

Mississippi's Hattiesburg, Gulfport, Vicksburg, Brookhaven, and Jackson, primarily served by Southern Company (SO) unit Mississippi Power, were also placed under a flood warning watch.

The NWS also issued flood warnings for Pensacola and DeFuniak Springs in Florida, where NextEra Energy (NEE) unit Florida Power & Light Company is the primary service provider.

Flood warnings were also issued for small pockets of Washington, Texas, Arkansas, and Indiana.

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