1/26/26 Forecast (1/26 - 2/2)

Fuels:

To start the week, snow cover exists across all of the state. Snow will gradually begin melting from northwest to southeast through the period. The amount that melts will be mostly limited to the far west and north. These areas may see some periodic fuels availability in fine fuels and some potential for fire activity when atmospheric conditions exist. However, overall fire behavior is expected to limited during this period. Heavier, 1000 hr fuels still remain fairly dry and this is a trend that will result in hold-over heat and has potential impact on timber areas carrying fire when conditions begin to dry out. 

Statewide Preparedness Level: 

 

Forecast:

Monday, January 26th

Winds turn southwest and increase with gusts to 25mph in the afternoon. Temperatures will rebound into the 20s as a result. Lingering snow will keep humidity up and no fire weather concerns. 

 

 

 

Tuesday, January 27th

Weak cold front crosses the region in the early morning. This will keep temperatures still sub-freezing and steady. Winds will be light out of the north with humidity remaining fairly high. Some 20% afternoon RH is possible in the northwest and southwest where snow cover may be more limited. 

 

 

Wednesday, January 28th

 Light southwest flow is expected across the region. This will usher in much warmer/drier air in the snow free areas of the far west along the CO border. Elsewhere, temperatures and humidity will remain cold and humid atop the snow pack. No fire weather concerns. 

 

 

 

 Thursday, January 29th

Another early morning cold front will shift winds back to the north with some afternoon gusts to 20mph. Temperatures will fall back into the 30s where there isn't snow in the west and 20s where there is snow. Overall, humidity will remain moderated, no fire weather concerns. 

 

 

 

Friday, January 30th 

A much stronger cold front pushes south across the state during the day. This will drop temperatures back to much below normal, in the single digits and develop some light snow in the northwest. Winds will be gusty out of the north, up to 30mph. While the air will be drier, lingering snow cover should limit fire concerns. 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, January 31st

Southwest flow returns but remains light with winds only up to 15mph. Temperatures will slightly rebound for western portions of the state that are not snow covered. There, humidity will briefly fall to the 20% range. Otherwise, cold and moderated humidity continues across the state. 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, February 1st

Southwest flow continues with warmer temperatures across the region. Humidity will fall into the 20-30% range for the west, otherwise, what is left of snow pack will moderate conditions/temperatures for central/east Kansas.  

 

 Monday, February 2nd

Warmer conditions will slightly moderate with a weak cold front. Drier conditions expected across the snow free regions which should consist of a lot of central and most of the western portion of the state. Winds will be mostly light, yielding no fire weather concerns 

 

 

Chip (1/26/26)

Next forecast: 2/2/26

 

Risk	Humidity	Wind	Other
Elevated	Around 20%	Sustained, greater than 10mph Gusting, greater than 20mph	Less than Red Flag Warning criteria usually and fire is able to move rapidly
Critical	Around 15%	Sustained, greater than 20mph Gusting, greater than 30mph	Expect Red Flag Warning criteria to be met and very rapid growth likely
Extreme	Around 10%	Sustained, greater than 35mph Gusting, greater than 40mph	Historical fire weather event possible with extreme growth likely

Please note, forecast is only updated weekly unless significant fire risk evolves.