Mid-Atlanic Warms Up, Dries Out In Wind.........

[hwoods]

A Couple of days after a Storm moved up the Atlantic Coast and dumped a good bit of rain along the immediate shore, things changed on Sunday Morning 5/8. West of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, where no rain was reported from the previous storm, County Fire dispatch offices were taking calls for Brush fires, Wires Down, Trees down or on wires, and other wind related incidents. Winds were NW at 8 MPH at 0800, but had Jumped to NW at 22, gusting to 31 by 11:00. On the South edge of Waldorf, Charles County Maryland, A Fire in Hardwood grew to several acres in a short time, before being hammered by units from 9 area VFDs and the Maryland Forestry Dept. As the day ended, the winds were dropping off some, but Humidity levels remained low. Tomorrow should be warmer, approaching 80 in some areas, and dry, but with less wind. And that's Spring in Maryland.

[hwoods]

Looks like 3 years of wet weather in this area might be coming to an end. July was wet, but August was drier than normal, and September looks to be one of the driest Septembers on record, with only 0.21 inches as of 9-25-05 Tomorrow, 9/26 looks to be 84 degrees, with a Southwest wind of 25-30 mph. some showers are likely, but not until evening. Guess it's time to load the Dozer..................... :eek:

[hwoods]

The rain mentioned above did arrive this evening, right on time. My gauge registered 0.10, and tomorrows forcast has winds of 15-20 out of the northwest. That tenth will be evaporated by 10 AM. And so it goes........

[bushmaster]

The Delaware State Fire Marshal's Office issued a burning ban ,
esffective 10/04/05 16;00 HRS.The trace amounts of rain, that we received on Tuesday ,didn't amount to much.Rain likely Fri./Sat.-otherwise--
Get ready for some 4-wheelin'!

[Deputy10D9]

Here in central NJ, we've had burning bans in place for weeks. The BUI is about 150. We haven't seen numbers like this since 2001! (last drought)

[hwoods]

Well, I guess the dry spell is over. From Noon Friday 10-7-05 Till Noon Sunday 10-9-05 My Rain Gauge has picked up 4.20 inches of Drought Buster. The outlook is for scattered light showers thru Thursday 10-13 before the Sun returns. Fires probably will not return for quite some time.

[Deputy10D9]

I hear you there. We got 1-3 inches here in central NJ. The sun is suppose to return on Wednesday. Total fires for section B10 so far this year is 93. Last year we were 52. And being fall fire season just started, I'm sure we'll break 100. We'll probably start having fires again by the weekend.

Pete
NJFFS Deputy District Warden

[hwoods]

Pete, it's the 18th, and we've dried out enough to be running a few small fires again, what are you guys doing up there?

[Deputy10D9]

Its Oct 20........Haven't checked this board in about a week. But it has dried out a little. We're still low fire danger. Div B (central NJ) has had a handfull of small fires the past few days. Prob because the last few days were on the windy side. Today nothing. And now they're saying rain most of the weekend starting tomorrow (friday). So it looks like another relaxing weekend.
Pete