A fire weather watch will be in effect in Hays from 1 to 8 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service in Dodge City warned, with red flag warnings in place for much of the rest of western Kansas.
The high Wednesday and Thursday is expected to be in the mid- to upper-80s, with south winds sustained at 20 to 30 mph and gusting up to 45 mph by Thursday night.
Friday brings a chance of relief, with a 20 percent chance of showers between 1 and 4 p.m., increasing to 60 percent Friday night and into Saturday morning.
By Saturday, the daytime high is only expected to be in the low-60s.