Fire Weather Watch Issued For NoVa, DC; Obey All Burn Bans: NWS

VIRGINIA — The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for most of the Washington, D.C. region, including Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland. The watch will be in effect from Wednesday morning and into the evening hours.

A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions may occur, according to NWS. A combination of dry conditions, low humidity and strong, gusty winds may result in the rapid spread of fires across the region.

On Tuesday afternoon, the relative humidity in the greater D.C. area was expected to drop to 20-25 percent, with some areas seeing relative humidity drop to around 20 percent for a couple of hours, according to the AccuWeather forecast.

"West winds gust 15 to 20 mph in the valleys, and 20 to 25 mph on the eastern slopes of the mountains," AccuWeather's forecast said. "Gusts could occasionally be close to 30 mph. This will result in the continued drying of fine fuels. Residents and visitors are urged to exercise caution if handling open flames or equipment that creates sparks."

AccuWeather also urged the public to obey all local burn bans and to dispose of cigarette butts, matches, and other flammable items in appropriate containers. Vehicles should also be kept off dry grass.

"Most dry grasses, dead leaves, and other tree litter could easily ignite and spread fire quickly," according to AccuWeather's forecast.

The fire weather watch extends to the following areas in Northern Virginia, according to NWS: Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Page, Warren, Clarke, Nelson, Albemarle, Greene, Madison, Rappahannock, Orange, Culpeper and Henrico counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

Tuesday was expected to be mostly sunny and windy, with gusts from the west of 9 to 15 mph and possibly reaching as high as 22 mph, according to the NWS forecast. The temperature was expected to reach a high of 54.

Here is the latest National Weather Service forecast for the Northern Virginia-Washington, D.C., region:

• Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. West wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 37. Southwest wind around 7 mph.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Breezy, with a southwest wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Northwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 51. Northwest wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 28.
• Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 51.
• Friday Night: Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Saturday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Blustery.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 52.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.
• Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 56.