Despite the much-needed moisture from recent rains, wildfires are still in the forecast for some parts of the country.
One expert says that Florida is a big concern.
According to National Interagency Fire Center Meteorologist, Jim Wallman, “At least for May, our primary concern is going to be probably in the southeast along the coast and in Florida where they’ve been very dry, kind of a concerned down there for this month and at least through the first half of June before they start to turn wetter into their rainy season, especially in Florida.”
Further west, Wallman says that warm and dry conditions could still make an appearance this summer.
“We do have some concerns continuing in Minnesota; they’ve been active. Fortunately, they’ve got well-timed precipitation to keep it somewhat subdued and not as active as it really could be this early in the season, and then we’re expecting the return in normal as we get into June, July, and August. Although there are some signs showing up that it could be a warm and dry summer there, and if that were to occur, then we could consider returning there, but right now, we’re not confident in that scenario. So we’re just keeping it normal.”
Nearly a million U.S. acres have been burned by wildfires this year.
