Carolina Weather Group

Numerous wildfires are burning in the Carolinas, including a fire near Myrtle Beach prompting the evacuation of residents in Carolina Forest in Horry County. Other fires are burning near Tryon, North Carolina and across the region.Latest high-resolution ensemble guidance continues to suggest a large area of elevated to near-critical fire weather conditions in the lee of the Appalachians and across the Southeast this afternoon. A very dry airmass has settled across the region in the wake of a dry cold front, with current surface observations indicating dewpoints between 25-35F. Highs near 70F today will support several hours of critical minimum RH values near 20-30% amidst receptive fuels and breezy downslope west/southwesterly surface winds. At this time, the best overlap of stronger surface winds (sustained winds near 20 mph and wind gusts 20-30 mph) and critical fuels appears to be across portions of western North and South Carolina, where a Critical fire weather area has been introduced. The Elevated area