Weather service advises residents to be aware of possible brush fires Friday afternoon because of very dry air and gusty winds. Watch video
With drier air and gusty winds moving into New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania Friday afternoon, there's a higher risk of brush fires breaking out, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service has issued a special weather statement alerting the public about the "elevated risk for spread of fires this afternoon."
After a cold front moved away off the New Jersey coast Friday morning, much drier air started drifting into the region. Winds from the northwest will start blowing in the afternoon, boosting the risk of brush fires, the weather service said.
"Relative humidity values are expected to drop to between 30 and 40 percent this afternoon with northwest wind gusts in the 15 to 20 mph range," the weather service said in its special statement. "The combination of low relative humidity, gusty winds and dry fuels will produce an elevated risk for the spread of fires this afternoon across interior New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania."
The New Jersey areas most at risk are Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties, as well as western Monmouth, northwestern Burlington and southeastern Burlington.
In Pennsylvania, the areas most at risk of fires are Berks, Carbon, Delaware, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Philadelphia counties, along with eastern and western Chester, eastern and western Montgomery, lower Bucks and upper Bucks.
7 things to know about controlled burns
During the past two weeks, the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service intentionally set fire to certain fields, forests and woodlands in six counties, from Sussex to Cumberland, in an effort to prevent future forest fires. Additional fires, known as prescribed burns or controlled burns, will be set this spring, covering between 10,000 and 20,000 acres, state officials said.
After two straight days of summer-like weather that broke a slew of temperature records in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, both states will see the mercury noticeably lower Friday afternoon -- but still remaining higher than normal for March 11.
Even after the cold front passes, today's highs will be about 15 degrees above normal. #pawx #njwx #dewx #mdwx pic.twitter.com/S8oIol9XKl
-- NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) March 11, 2016
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.