Weather & Natural Hazards

Drought, wildfire & other hazards

Not every danger arrives as a storm. A dry spell can creep up on crops. Grass fires can run on a windy spring day, while fog, tropical rain, or a hazy sky can change the trip in other ways. Each one is manageable once you know what to watch for.

The slow burns and quiet risks

Drought

Drought builds slowly and is easy to underestimate. It's tracked on the U.S. Drought Monitor, updated weekly. Severe drought plus heat is hard on crops and water supplies — and dangerous for people, too.

Wildfire & grass fires

Missouri's fire season is the dry, windy stretch of fall and early spring — and the most common mix-up is treating a fire-weather alert as if it were a ban on burning. They are different alerts: one describes dangerous fire weather, while the other restricts burning.

A Red Flag Warning is not a burn ban

Missouri's main fire danger comes in fall and early spring, when dead grass and leaves are dry and the wind is up (fire can happen any season). A Red Flag Warning means critical fire-weather conditions — dry fuels, low humidity, and wind. Important: a Red Flag Warning is NOT itself a burn ban. Burn bans are issued separately by counties, cities, and land managers — so when fire weather is bad, avoid burning and sparks AND check separately for a local burn ban.

Dense fog

A Dense Fog Advisory means visibility is dropping fast. Slow down, leave extra following distance, and use your low beams — high beams reflect off the fog and make it harder to see.

Tropical remnants

Missouri is far from the coast, but the leftovers of a Gulf hurricane or tropical storm sometimes reach the state. Treat tropical remnants as a flooding threat — they bring heavy, soaking rain.

Because the danger is water, not wind, prepare for it the way you would any heavy rain — see flooding for the rules that keep you safe, including Turn Around, Don't Drown.

Air quality

On hot, stagnant summer days (ozone) and when smoke drifts in from far-off wildfires, air quality can drop. Check AirNow and local health guidance, and on bad-air days, sensitive groups — children, older adults, and people with asthma, heart, or lung conditions — should take it easier outside.

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