By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Nearly all of western Kansas, including Ellis County, is in a Red Flag Warning today, issued by the National Weather Service in Dodge City.
The warning is for 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday as high wind and low relative humidity combine for critical fire conditions.
Southerly wind gusts of up to 45 mph are predicted with a temperature reaching up to 79 degrees in Hays.
As of March 11, the most recent weekly drought monitor shows nearly all of Ellis County in moderate drought. The very southwest corner of the county is abnormally dry.
Hays has received 1.71 inches of precipitation so far this year, according to the official record at the K-State Agricultural Research Center. The 158-year accumulative average precipitation is 2.46 inches by the end of March.