Wildfire Threat Rages In Oklahoma Thursday

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A powerful storm system could bring severe weather to parts of Oklahoma, but it may not be enough to dampen the wildfire threat.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for 23 counties in western and central Oklahoma for Thursday. Cimarron County in the Oklahoma Panhandle has been dropped from the watch.

A powerful storm system could bring severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes as it approaches from the west. A dryline, a boundary between moist and dry air along which storms form during the spring, could help trigger storms but also produce strong southwesterly winds of 20 to 30 mph with higher gusts.

Forecasters say relative humidity will be in the 10- to 20-percent range and temperatures should reach the 70s and 80s.