Overview
- Red Flag and Fire Weather warnings covered much of Florida on Tuesday, including 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. alerts for Orange, Lake, Sumter, Osceola, Seminole, inland Volusia, and Marion.
- A cold front brought very dry air and gusty northeast winds, dropping humidity into the 20%–30% range and pushing gusts to 20–30 mph, which can turn small sparks into fast-moving fires.
- The Florida Forest Service reported dozens of active wildfires of varying sizes and containment levels across the state.
- Tampa Fire Rescue prepositioned brush units to speed response and urged residents to skip open flames, keep cars off dry grass, and fully extinguish cigarettes.
- Atlantic beaches faced choppy surf and a high rip-current risk, and small craft advisories signaled hazardous boating conditions from strong onshore winds.