The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for Thursday (April 14, 2016) from 12:00 to 7:00 p.m. for most of eastern Colorado including Kiowa County to due high fire danger.

In addition to Kiowa County, all or most of the eastern counties are under the warning. Only Baca and Prowers counties are completely excluded.

Temperatures will be in the upper 70s to low 80s across the region, with south winds 15 to 30 miles per hour, gusting to 40 mph. Relative humidity is expected to drop as low as 12 percent.

Conditions create the potential for extreme fire behavior. Expect rapid growth and spread of any fires that start.

Following a day of high fire danger, a low pressure system moves into the area bringing rain and thunderstorms from Friday afternoon into Sunday, as well as noticeably lower temperatures. Although not common for this time of year in Colorado, tornado activity is possible. Last month marked the nine year anniversary of a tornado that damaged a significant part of Holly in Prowers County and killed two people.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are imminent. The combination of warm temperatures, strong winds and low relative humidity can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

All outdoor burning is discouraged.