The risk of fire weather increases when there are gusty winds, low humidity, and dry soils (known as fuels). These conditions are often present when cold fronts move through this time of year. This is when Fire Weather Watches or Warnings could be issued, as well as county-specific Burn Bans.
It's important to follow the guidance of local officials to help prevent any wildfires from starting or spreading. In the state of Texas, nine out of ten fires are human-caused, with 40% of them being related to outdoor burning.
Texas A&M Forest Service Public Information Officer Matthew Ford told ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith that the kinds of fires we see in the Houston area, versus the Panhandle, are smaller but can be more frequent. There's also a greater response time to a fire due to the region being more heavily populated.
This recent dry weather shouldn't come as a surprise either, given the winter outlook for this year. A La Niña pattern has been in place, and that influence has been noticed this winter. A traditional La Niña typically leads to a warmer and drier than normal winter for the South and wetter winter for the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast. Both of those have very much verified this winter with recent record snowfall across the Northeast and Florida witnessing its worst drought in 25 years.
Texas has seen drought conditions deteriorate this winter. Houston ended 2025 on a dry note with only 38.99 inches of rain falling that year. That's nearly a foot of rain less than we typically pick up, which is around 52 inches of rain. Rain gauges at Bush Intercontinental and Hobby are also recording less rain than normal for the start of the year by nearly 2 to 3 inches, respectively. And with minimal rain in the forecast over the next 7 to 10 days, the current drought will persist, and fire weather risks will be present when conditions are right.
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