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Our automated weather channel is on the air around the clock: the radar, the temperatures, the week ahead — and when a warning hits the Valley, it stays with the storm.
Dry Week Ahead: Low Humidity Raises Fire Danger Across the Valley
Why is there a fire danger warning in west Georgia and east Alabama this week?
Dry air under strong high pressure is dropping humidity to 25 percent or lower across central Georgia, prompting a fire danger statement that covers Columbus and the surrounding counties, with a moderate weekend fire risk on the Alabama side near Auburn and Opelika.
Photo: Mustafa Akın / Pexels
Stand on the RiverWalk in Columbus this afternoon and the air will feel unusually thin and clean — the kind of dry you notice on your lips. That is the story this week. Forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City expect relative humidity to fall to 25 percent or lower across central Georgia this afternoon and evening, dry enough that they have put out a fire danger statement. Their counterparts in Birmingham flag a moderate fire weather risk over the weekend on the Alabama side, from Auburn and Opelika down through Tuskegee and Lanett, with limited moisture and a slight increase in wind.
The reason is a large dome of high pressure sitting squarely over the region. Sinking air under high pressure dries the atmosphere out and scrubs the sky clear, which is why Columbus is looking at 77 degrees today, 74 on Saturday and Sunday, 75 on Monday and 77 again Tuesday, with essentially no rain chance all week and overnight lows in the 40s.
Saturday will be the coolest of the bunch for a reason worth knowing. A shallow layer of cool air banks up against the mountains to our north and slides south along the ground, capping how warm the afternoon can get. Dew points come up a little with it, so Saturday's humidity should stay out of the critical range even though the ground stays dry.
Here is the part that surprises people: this has been a wet year. Columbus has recorded 43.64 inches of rain so far against a normal of 39.26 by this date, and October alone has brought 3.30 inches where 2.02 is typical. None of that helps much now. Leaves, pine straw and cured grass dry out in a matter of days in air this thirsty.
So check with your county before burning anything, keep a hose close, and soak ashes before you dump them. Forecasters see hints of a wetter pattern trying to arrive as November begins.
Right now in Columbus, Georgia
58°Temperature
46°Dew point
65%Humidity
2 mphWind — southeast
30.23"Pressure
The next seven days
Day
High
Low
Rain
Conditions
TONIGHT
—
47°
0%
Clear
SAT
74°
50°
0%
Sunny
SUN
75°
50°
0%
Sunny
MON
76°
45°
0%
Sunny
TUE
78°
47°
0%
Sunny
WED
77°
49°
2%
Mostly Sunny
THU
79°
50°
2%
Mostly Sunny
Written by the CNAW 2 weather desk from CNAW 2 weather desk data. Last updated October 23, 2026 at 10:53 PM Eastern. Covering Columbus and Phenix City, Auburn–Opelika, LaGrange, Eufaula and the rest of the 19-county CNAW viewing area.
