Fire Potential Main Title
SA Sub Main Title 1
Issued: Monday, May 21, 2012
Predictive Service Areas Ytd Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
TX_OK
May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27
SA09 - TX West Central 1 1 D W D W W 1
SA05 - TX Central Northwest 1 1 1 W D D D 2
SA10 - TX Central Southwest 1 1 1 1 1 D 1 1
SA06 - TX Central Northeast 3 2 2 W D D D 3
SA11 - TX Central Southeast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA07 - TX East North 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3
SA12 - TX East South 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
SA14 - TX Southwest 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA16 - TX Brownsville 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA15 - TX South Coast 1 1 D 1 1 1 1 1
SA13 - TX Northeast Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA02 - OK West 1 1 2 W D D W 3
SA03 - OK Central 1 1 1 W D D D 3
SA17 - OK/AR Ozarks 2 2 3 D D D D 3
miss_valley_topo
Fire Potential Sub Main Title 2
Predictive Service Areas Ytd Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27
SA18 - AR East #### #### #### #### #### # #### #
SA19 - LA 3 D D 1 1 1 1 2
SA20 - LA Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA21 - LA/MS/AL Coast 1 D 1 2 1 1 1 1
SA22 - MS Central & South 1 D 2 D 2 2 2 3
SA23 - MS North 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3
SA38 - AL North 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
SA39 - AL Central & South 1 1 1 D 1 1 1 1
Fire Potential Sub Main Title 3
Predictive Service Areas Ytd Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27
se_us_topo,SA Legend
SA40 - GA Northwest 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
SA41 - GA Central # #### #### #### # #### #### ####
SA42 - GA Southeast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA46 - GA/FL Coast 1 D 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA26 - KY West 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
SA27 - KY East 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA24 - TN West 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3
SA25 - TN Central & East 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
SA28 - APP North 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA31 - APP South 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA29 - VA Central 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1
SA32 - NC Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA35 - SC Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA33 - NC Costal Plain 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA36 - SC Coastal Plain 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1
SA30 - VA Coast 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
SA34 - NC Coast 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA37 - SC Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA43 - FL Panhandle 1 D D 1 1 1 1 1
SA44 - FL North Coast 1 D D 1 1 1 1 1
SA45 - FL Northeast 1 D D D 1 1 1 1
SA48 - FL Central 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA50 - FL South 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA47 - FL West Coast 1 D 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA51 - FL South Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SA49 - FL East Coast 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
Weather Synopsis:
Red Flag Warnings:   Low RH (near 25%) and Winds (15 mph) have caused Red Flags for parts of the Florida Panhandle..
Fire Weather Watches:  None.
Weather Summary and Outlook:  Tropical Storm Alberto will remain offshore as it tracks out into the Atlantic, keeping the heavy rains off the coast.   Modest northeast breezes around the storm will extend west into Georgia, eastern Alabama, and northern Florida, and may couple with low RH, producing Red Flag conditions for parts of the area.  A strong cold front will move east from the Mississippi Valley bringing widespread showers and scattered thunderstorms to many areas east of the Mississippi.  The heaviest rain should be over most of Tennessee, as well as Northern Mississippi/Alabama. .   
Elsewhere, lighter showers further east, from Virginia down to Northern Georgia. Also a heavier band of showers and imbedded thunderstorms across South Florida.

Puerto Rico will continue to see wetting rainfall in the form of tropical showers and thunderstorms, the almost daily deluge adding to the above seasonal rainfall, rainfall amounts so far this year running around 200 percent of normal.  As a result, fire potential for Puerto Rico should remain low to non existent.

Next Significant Precipitation Period(s):   From Tuesday thru the rest of the week, showers will be confined mainly across the Southern Appalachians on eastward toward the coast.

Atlantic/Caribbean Tropical Activity Summary:  First Tropical Storm of the Atlantic Season (Alberto) is expected to track northeastward and remain off the coast.  No watches or warnings are currently in effect.

The Atlantic tropical season does not officially begin for another 11 days.  In spite of this, the weather pattern has favored an early season start, with enhanced convection in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean and along the southeast Atlantic Coast.  Due to the warmer than average Caribbean, potential development of tropical systems will exist early in the season (through early June), development favoring the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and areas just  south or east of Florida.
Fire Potential Discussion:
The second year La Niña episode continues to weaken as sea surface temperatures remain  warmer than average in the eastern monitored area. There is a chance that a weak El Nino will be present perhaps as early as the opening days of June. Warm El Nino anomalies will likely be in place during our tropical storm season. El Nino typically moderates the overall Atlantic basin activity.  

The second year La Niña episode continues to dramatically and quickly weaken as sea surface temperatures become warmer than average in the eastern-most monitored area. Other indicators used to forecast future temperature anomalies in the Pacific, as well as modeled forecasts; all indicate that neutral to perhaps slightly warmer than average conditions will return. There is a chance that a weak El Nino will be present perhaps as early as the opening days of June. Warm El Nino anomalies will likely be in place during our tropical storm season. El Nino typically moderates the overall Atlantic basin activity. 

Green conditions continue to be the chief mitigating factor to wildfire risks that may develop over short duration rain free events (except Florida due to tropical nature of fuels - acres burned peaks May into June with a secondary number of fires peak in May). Significant water table deficits continue in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp although some recovery has occurred recently.   Sub-surface organics continue to remain exposed. 
Resources:
Southern Area is at PL1 as of May 15th (Down from PL2 which started April 10th). 
NOTICE:  Forecasts for the following PSA's may be unavailable or unrepresentative of actual conditions due to missing observations from the stations listed: