Red Flag Warning | Puerto Rico Weather

Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly. And welcome to the Puerto Rico Weather Podcast — it's Thursday, February 26th. Step outside right now and you're wrapped in 74 degrees under a gray blanket of clouds. Feels nice. But those trade winds are stirring. And they're about to make their presence known. Metro San Juan deals with scattered showers all morning into the afternoon. You'll hit 81 degrees with east winds gusting to 25 miles an hour. More showers roll in after 9 P.M. tonight, with lows around 75. Head south to Ponce and the southern coast. And it's a completely different day. Pure sunshine. Highs climb to 88 degrees this afternoon. Just a slight rain chance after noon. Those easterly gusts hit 29 miles an hour down there. Now push west. Thunderstorms fire up around noon and stick around through 8 P.M. Highs reach 86 degrees, with storm chances peaking at 50 percent this afternoon. Here's the serious part. A Red Flag Warning kicks in at 11 A.M. and runs through 5 P.M. for the southwest coastal plains. Critical fire weather conditions mean any spark becomes a wildfire. Zero outdoor burning today. And about those beaches.. A High Surf Advisory continues through Friday morning from Rincon to Fajardo. Breaking waves hit 10 to 13 feet. Life-threatening rip currents are expected. Stay out of the water. Your five-day outlook: Friday brings the wettest conditions with possible thunderstorms. Temperatures hold in the low to mid 80s. The weekend dries out some, then shower chances climb again Monday and Tuesday. Breezy trade winds stick with us throughout. One bright spot — we're gaining over a minute of daylight today. Sunrise at 6:47 A.M., sunset at 6:30 P.M. Spring equinox is three weeks out. If you're heading to the southwest coast today, take that fire warning seriously. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.