ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Any fire that sparks Thursday afternoon across the Tampa Bay area could very well spread rapidly, meteorologists warn.
Much of the bay area, central and south Florida will go under a fire weather watch from noon Thursday through the evening amid a combination of low humidity and gusty winds.
A cold front brought some rain to the area Wednesday night, but it's the dry airmass moving in that'll help create conditions for wildfires. And despite the rain, much of the area is running well below normal in terms of total rainfall this past month.
The dry air, with humidity levels running 25-35 percent, and gusty winds to 25 mph at times, could allow fires to spread out of control, the National Weather Service said.
People are warned not to do any outdoor burning during the day Thursday until conditions improve.
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