2026年4月23日 / 美国东部时间上午11:50 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
作者：艾米莉·梅·查霍尔 新闻编辑
艾米莉·梅·查霍尔是CBSNews.com的记者兼新闻编辑，通常报道突发新闻、极端天气以及涉及社会正义的议题。她此前曾为《洛杉矶时报》、BuzzFeed和《新闻周刊》等媒体撰稿。
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气象部门表示，截至本周五，美国中部地区超过1500万人处于火灾天气警报之下，高温、干燥空气和强风共同推高了“极端”野火行为风险。
据美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）风暴预测中心数据，其中约380万人在周四面临美国国家气象局定义的“极端危险火灾天气”状况。
该中心指出，极端风险区域涵盖科罗拉多州、堪萨斯州、内布拉斯加州、新墨西哥州、俄克拉荷马州和得克萨斯州的部分地区。这些州的更广区域以及亚利桑那州、南达科他州和怀俄明州的部分地区则处于“高风险火灾天气”状态，危险程度略低。
红色标注区域将在2026年4月23日周四面临“极端”火灾天气状况，橙色标注区域则面临“高风险”火灾天气状况。
气象学家将极端危险火灾天气定义为为野火发展创造有利环境的条件，判定标准包括高温、低湿度和阵风，三者同时出现通常会触发红旗警报。
美国国家气象局表示，当“干燥可燃物和气象条件共同支持极端火灾危险”时，他们会发布红旗警报，或是紧急程度稍低的火灾天气监视。
根据美国国家气象局的说明，当前美国中部地区生效的警报包括红旗警报（意味着极端火灾天气状况正在发生或即将出现）和火灾天气监视（针对预报中较远时间才会出现的此类状况）。
多个人口中等规模的大都市区处于风险区域内，包括阿尔伯克基、丹佛和埃尔帕索，此外还有得克萨斯州的阿马里洛以及南达科他州首府皮尔。
美国中部部分地区的火灾天气警报将持续至2026年4月24日周五。
哥伦比亚广播公司新闻气象学家尼基·诺兰表示，本轮易引发火灾的天气部分源于周四一个向中部各州移动的风暴系统，该系统将给南部平原带来高达每小时50至60英里的阵风。与此同时，气象预报员预计该地区的相对湿度将降至个位数，意味着空气将极度干燥。
这些状况叠加了美国中部和东部周四的大范围高温，根据地点不同，当地气温预计将比今年同期平均水平高出15至25华氏度。
由此产生的火灾危险被认定为极端级别，因为一旦野火爆发，可在干燥的干旱地区快速蔓延并失去控制。
在中部各州出现野火风险的同时，佛罗里达州和佐治亚州已有超过100起野火正在燃烧，摧毁了房屋，触发了焚烧禁令，并迫使数百人疏散。此次火灾发生之际，美国天气数据显示干旱状况已达到创纪录高位，气象学家还警告即将到来的野火季可能更具破坏性。
尼基·诺兰对本文亦有贡献。
More than 15 million under fire weather alerts in central U.S., as warmth, strong winds fuel “extreme” wildfire risks
April 23, 2026 / 11:50 AM EDT / CBS News
By Emily Mae Czachor News Editor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
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More than 15 million people across the central United States are under fire weather alerts through Friday, as a combination of heat, dry air and strong winds fuel risks of “extreme” wildfire behavior, forecasters said.
Within that group are roughly 3.8 million who face what the National Weather Service calls “critical fire weather” conditions on Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center.
The critical risk area covers parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas the prediction center said. Broader sections of those states, as well as parts of Arizona, South Dakota and Wyoming, are seeing “elevated fire weather” conditions, which are slightly less intense.
Areas marked in red are facing “critical” fire weather conditions on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Those marked in orange face “elevated” fire weather conditions. Nikki Nolan/CBS News
Meteorologists define critical fire weather conditions as those that create favorable environments for wildfires to develop. Criteria includes high temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds, and a mixture of all three generally triggers red flag warnings.
The weather service has said it issues red flag warnings, or less urgent fire weather watches, “when the combination of dry fuels and weather conditions support extreme fire danger.”
Alerts currently active in the middle of the country include red flag warnings, which means critical fire weather conditions are currently occurring or expected to occur shortly, and fire weather watches, which are issued when those types of conditions are farther ahead in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service.
Several moderately populous metropolitan areas are located inside the risk area, including Albuquerque, Denver and El Paso, in addition to Amarillo, Texas, and South Dakota’s capital, Pierre.
Fire weather alerts are in place through Friday, April 24, 2026, for parts of the central United States. Nikki Nolan/CBS News
This bout of fire-prone weather partially stems from a storm system moving into central states on Thursday, bringing wind gusts of up to 50 or 60 mph to the Southern Plains, said CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan. At the same time, forecasters anticipate that relative humidity values in the region will sink down to single-digit values, meaning the air will be very dry.
Those conditions compound widespread warmth across the central and eastern U.S. on Thursday, with temperatures forecast to be between 15 and 25 degrees above average for this time of year, depending on the place.
The resulting fire danger is considered extreme because wildfires can grow quickly and spread uncontrollably over dry, arid land if they do develop.
Wildfire risks surfaced in central states as more than 100 wildfires were already burning in Florida and Georgia, destroying homes, prompting burn bans and forcing hundreds of evacuations. The blazes come as weather data show drought conditions in the U.S. reached record heights, and meteorologists warned of the potential for a more destructive oncoming wildfire season.
Nikki Nolan contributed to this report.
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