The US National Weather Service on Thursday said elevated to critical fire weather conditions is expected in major portions of the Great Plains and parts of Great Basin and central Rockies into Friday due to the presence of gusty to high winds and low relative humidity.
Meanwhile, the central Plains could experience severe thunderstorms, along with large hail and damaging wind gusts, into the weekend.
The NWS early Thursday issued a red flag warning for Nebraska's Harrison, Chadron, Alliance, Scottsbluff, Bridgeport, Harrisburg, Kimball, Sidney, Oshkosh, Chappell, Hyannis, Arthur, Ogallala, Grant, Imperial, Mullen, Thedford, Tryon, Stapleton, Stockville, Burwell, Broken Bow, Brewster, North Platte, Norfolk, and O'Neill.
The state falls under the service area of regional transmission organization Southwest Power Pool, with Midcontinent ISO also serving some areas.
A red flag warning was also raised for Colorado's Gunnison, Leadville, Buena Vista, Salida, Canon City, La Veta Pass, San Luis, Trinidad, West Cliffe, Julesberg, Sterling, Fort Collins, and Greeley. Xcel Energy (XEL) and Black Hills' (BKH) Black Hills Energy are the major service providers in Colorado.
In Kansas, where Evergy (EVRG) is among the major electricity service providers, a warning for fire weather conditions was issued for Ulysses, Liberal, and Dodge City.
Also covered under a red flag warning were Oklahoma's Beaver, Alva, Woodward, Gage, Elk City, Guymon, and Altus; and Perryton, Pampa, Clarendon, and Canadian.
OGE Energy (OGE) unit Oklahoma Gas & Electric and American Electric Power subsidiary Public Service Co. of Oklahoma are the major electric utility service providers in Oklahoma, while Xcel Enery and American Electric Power's (AEP) Texas unit serves the affected areas in Texas.
In South Dakota, a red flag warning was raised for Sturgis, Spearfish, Belle Fourche, Deadwood, Faith, Raid City, Hermosa, Edgemont, Hot Springs, Wall, Pine Ridge, Phillip, Kadoka, Martin, White River, Pierre, Murdo, Mobridge, Aberdeen, Miller, Watertown, Sisseton, Brookings, Mitchell, Sioux Falls, Yankton, and Vermillion. Xcel Energy, Northwestern Energy (NWE), Black Hills Energy, MDU Resources (MDU) unit Montana-Dakota Utilities and Otter Tail's (OTTR) Otter Tail Power are among the major electric service providers in the state.
A similar warning was also raised for almost the entirety of North Dakota except for Crosby, Minot, and Williston. The state is primarily served by Xcel Energy, Montana-Dakota Utilities, and Otter Tail Power.
Iowa's Estherville, Storm Lake and Sioux City were placed under the warning for fire weather conditions, primarily served by Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy (LNT).
In Minnesota, a similar warning was raised for Marshall, Pipestone, Windom, Worthington, Roseau, Thief River Falls, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Morris, and Willmar. The main service providers in the state are Otter Tail Power, Allette (ALE) subsidiary Minnesota Power, Xcel Energy and Alliant Energy.
The NWS also issued a flood warning for certain pockets of Washington, Louisiana, and Mississippi.