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Forecasters Issue a Rare Weather Warning
The National Weather Service did something Monday meteorologists there admit they haven't done much of in recent years: issue a warning about just how dry it is.

The Weather Service office in Lincoln issued a Red Flag Warning. Meteorologist Chris Miller says with humidity levels around 20-percent, coupled with very dry grounds and strong winds, it could make outdoor fires like controlled burns bad news quickly by spreading.

Miller tells WGIL the initiative to issue Red Flag Warnings has only been in place about four years, but hasn't needed to be used much.

"The last few years it's been pretty wet in the springtime," he said. "So this has not been an issue for us because the brush has had too much moisture in it or the relative humidity in the air has been higher, which wouldn't cause fires to spread very far."

Miller says you can likely expect more such Red Flag Warnings to be issued, especially with conditions, in his words, "abnormally dry" across west central and northern Illinois.

He says some areas are well below normal for precipitation, starting last July, and totaling now about 10 to 12 inches. He says rain forecast later this week won't do much to dent that.
04 10 12 by Newsroom
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