Red Flag Warning 2, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

Atascosa County, TX, Bandera County, TX, Bastrop County, TX, Bexar County, TX, Blanco County, TX, Caldwell County, TX, Comal County, TX, DeWitt County, TX, Dimmit County, TX, Edwards County, TX, Frio County, TX, Gillespie County, TX, Gonzales County, TX, Guadalupe County, TX, Hays County, TX, Karnes County, TX, Kendall County, TX, Kerr County, TX, Kinney County, TX, Maverick County, TX, Medina County, TX, Real County, TX, Travis County, TX, Uvalde County, TX, Val Verde County, TX, Wilson County, TX, Zavala County, TX

948 
WWUS84 KEWX 210639
RFWEWX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
1239 AM CST Sat Feb 21 2026

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED SATURDAY...

.Breezy north winds and dry air behind a Pacific front will bring
critical fire weather conditions during Saturday across much of
South Central Texas.

TXZ183>193-202>208-217>224-228-220300-
/O.CON.KEWX.FW.W.0002.260221T1600Z-260222T0300Z/
Val Verde-Edwards-Real-Kerr-Bandera-Gillespie-Kendall-Blanco-Hays-
Travis-Bastrop-Kinney-Uvalde-Medina-Bexar-Comal-Guadalupe-
Caldwell-Maverick-Zavala-Frio-Atascosa-Wilson-Karnes-Gonzales-
De Witt-Dimmit-
1239 AM CST Sat Feb 21 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO
9 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR MOST
OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...

* AFFECTED AREA...Most of South Central Texas.

* TIMING...From 10 AM this morning to 9 PM CST this evening.

* WINDS...North 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 10 percent.

* IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. 
  Outdoor burning is not recommended.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now....or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds...low relative humidity...and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.

&&

$$

Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
555 AM CST Fri Feb 20 2026

...New AVIATION (12Z TAFS)...

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Above average temperatures for most today and Saturday, then
  trending cooler early next week. Well above normal temperatures
  return by the middle of next week.

- Near critical to possibly critical fire weather conditions for
  most of South Central Texas Saturday and along and east of I-35 on
  Sunday. Otherwise, locally elevated fire weather conditions Hill
  Country, Edwards Plateau, and Rio Grande Plains each afternoon
  through early next week.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(Today through Saturday)
Issued at 1202 AM CST Fri Feb 20 2026

The dryline retrogrades early this morning while at the same time
surface high pressure moves into northern Texas. Increasing low
clouds will build over much of the area tonight with fog favored
over the coastal plains, the I-35 corridor south of Austin and
portions of the Rio Grande Plains. Some drizzle or sprinkles can't
be ruled out over the coastal plains this morning but kept PoPs
mainly below 15 percent given the lack of forcing. Surface high
pressure expands and brings a backdoor front into our northeastern
areas later this morning keeping drier air and cooler temperatures
over portions of the I-35 corridor, Hill Country and coastal plains
near and north of Austin. Temperatures are tricky for these
locations with the HREF indicating a high variability in model
guidance, though it does look like cloud cover will remain over the
area into the afternoon which also supports the lower temperatures
in the 60s. Will also have to watch exactly how far south this
backdoor boundary spreads as temperatures could be cooler for
outside of the locations mentioned above. Elsewhere, highs will
generally be in the 70s up to the mid 80s along the Rio Grande.

A Pacific cold front will move across the area late Friday night
into early Saturday bringing much drier air and gusty northerly wind
behind it. Given these conditions Saturday, near critical to
possibly critical fire weather conditions are expected for the whole
region. Warm temperatures build back over the area by Saturday
afternoon with the cooler temperatures lagging until Saturday night.
Expect highs mainly in the 70s to low 80s.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Saturday night through Thursday)
Issued at 1202 AM CST Fri Feb 20 2026

Gusty northerly wind will continue Saturday night but will decrease
first along the Rio Grande and taper off slightly from the Hill
Country and areas west after midnight. Over the I-35 corridor and
coastal plains, gusty conditions continue into the mid afternoon
Sunday before surface high pressure builds further over the area
bringing lighter wind Sunday night into Monday. Jumping to
temperatures for this weekend, we'll finally see the effects of the
the Pacific front passage early Sunday morning with lows in the mid
30s to mid 40s across the area with highs Sunday topping out in the
low 60s to around 70 degrees. Surface high pressure begins to shift
east Monday with southerly flow esablishing back over the area by
Monday night. The seasonable temperatures remain in place through
Tuesday morning, with a slight increase into the 70s across the area
for Tuesday afternoon. A tighter pressure gradient establishes over
the area Tuesday into Wednesday bringing back breezy southerly wind.
More notable will be the return of warm unseasonable temperaturs
with forecast highs in the mid and upper 80s for most the area
Wednesday and Thursday. For some locations in the west, highs in the
low 90s may be seen.

&&

.AVIATION...
(12Z TAFS)
Issued at 525 AM CST Fri Feb 20 2026

The primary change was to remove LIFR mention at SAT and SSF.
Winds have remained around 4-6 kts, preventing visibility and
ceilngs from completely tanking this morning. Expect a return to
VFR ceilings by midday. Winds should turn a bit more northwesterly
after midnight tonight as another front moves into the region.
MVFR ceilings may develop again and have been used in the TAF
after 09Z Saturday.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Austin Camp Mabry              68  55  75  41 /   0   0   0   0
Austin Bergstrom Intl Airport  68  54  76  41 /  10   0   0   0
New Braunfels Muni Airport     72  56  77  41 /   0   0   0   0
Burnet Muni Airport            64  51  70  37 /   0   0   0   0
Del Rio Intl Airport           83  59  79  42 /   0   0   0   0
Georgetown Muni Airport        65  52  74  38 /   0   0   0   0
Hondo Muni Airport             78  56  80  40 /   0   0   0   0
San Marcos Muni Airport        72  55  77  40 /  10   0   0   0
La Grange - Fayette Regional   73  58  76  41 /  20   0   0   0
San Antonio Intl Airport       74  57  77  43 /   0   0   0   0
Stinson Muni Airport           76  58  79  44 /   0   0   0   0

&&

.EWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Dense Fog Advisory until 9 AM CST this morning for TXZ209-
221>225.

&&

SHORT TERM...27
LONG TERM....27
AVIATION...MMM