Eastern panhandle included in Red Flag Warning for Wednesday afternoon

NORTH PLATTE, NE — Portions of the Nebraska panhandle are seeing elevated fire danger levels Wednesday. 

The National Weather Service in North Platte has issued a Red Flag Warning for Deuel, Garden and Sheridan counties in the Nebraska panhandle. Keith, Arthur and Grant counties are also among those included. 

The warning lasts from 11:00 a.m. MST Wednesday until 5:00 p.m.

Weather service officials say relative humidity is forecast to be around the 14 percent mark. They are expecting sustained winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 35 miles per hour. Burning of any kind is prohibited during a Red Flag Warning. Officials warn that any fires started will have the potential to spread quickly.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the panhandle is still in an extreme drought. This includes most of Deuel County and the western halves of Garden and Sheridan counties.