Forecasters at the National Weather Service said on Friday that a “wildfire outbreak appears likely today” with dangerous fire weather conditions across a broad slice of the southern Great Plains and a portion of the Southwest and even into the Midwest.

Before noon local time, several fires were already visible on satellite in the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma, and more were expected, said Emily Thornton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.

“The situation is unfolding right now,” Ms. Thornton said late Friday morning. “It is incredibly dangerous.”

A strong storm barreling across the country drove gusty winds and dry air across the desiccated landscape of eastern New Mexico and Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Any wildfires that start could spread rapidly in this region.

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Wildfire Smoke Blankets Skies in Oklahoma

A fast-moving wildfire, fueled by gusty winds and dry air, filled the sky over Oklahoma with smoke.

“Oh, gosh.” “Because the church is just right there.” “No — church is right behind us. Sorry, it’s east of the church. It’s — it’s east of the church. It is. You’re — and they close 51 because there’s fire on both sides of it.”

A fast-moving wildfire, fueled by gusty winds and dry air, filled the sky over Oklahoma with smoke.CreditCredit…Kristy Blosch, via Storyful

The winds were expected to be strongest and the fire risk highest in an area extending from northern Texas across central Oklahoma into southeast Kansas and including a smidgen of Missouri. A wind gust of 83 miles per hour was recorded in Amarillo, Texas, early Friday.

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