Relative humidity values will drop to around 35 percent along with westerly wind gusts up to 45 MPH across northwestern and west central Minnesota. Given the extremely dry fuels, near critical fire weather conditions are expected for the afternoon and early evening hours Saturday. Any fire that does develop has the potential to quickly spread. For more information on burning restrictions for Minnesota, see www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/fire/firerating_restrictions.html

* AFFECTED AREA. In North Dakota, Barnes, Cass, Ransom, Sargent and Richland. * WIND. Sustained winds to 35 MPH, gusts up to 55 MPH * HUMIDITY. Relative humidity as low as 25% * IMPACTS. Any fires that ignite will spread rapidly and become difficult to control. Outdoor burning is not recommended. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS. a surface trough will bring a strong southerly to northwesterly wind shift tomorrow morning and afternoon. Wind gusts will be increasing to 55 MPH in the afternoon, and could further decrease RH values lower than 25%. This will lead to erratic fire behavior of any fires that develop.

* WHAT. West winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph possible. * WHERE. Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN. From Saturday morning through Saturday evening. * IMPACTS. High winds may move loose debris, damage property and cause power outages. Travel could be difficult especially for high profile vehicles.

Relative humidity values will drop to around 35 percent along with westerly wind gusts up to 45 MPH across northwestern Minnesota. Given the extremely dry fuels, near critical fire weather conditions are expected for the afternoon and early evening hours Saturday. Any fire that does develop has the potential to quickly spread. For more information on burning restrictions for Minnesota, see www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/fire/firerating_restrictions.html