High Wind and Red Flag Warnings in Effect Tomorrow for Prince George's County

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a High Wind Warning starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning that will expire at 9 p.m. in the evening. Northwest winds are expected to be between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts that could reach up to 60 mph. The strongest winds are expected between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

At 9 a.m., a Red Flag Warning will go into effect, with both warnings ending at 9 p.m. Saturday.

According to the NWS, a Red Flag Warning is issued when there is potential for explosive fire growth. In this case, it's the combination of the expected strong wind, humidity dropping between to between 15 and 25 percent and warmer temperatures that caused the concern.

One easy but major thing that people can do to prepare—aside from having the essentials and an emergency kit—is to secure loose belongings on your property or bring them inside.

People should be cautious of downed trees and branches, and minimally have a flashlight, a fully charged cell phone and a radio on hand.

BGE is also preparing for outages and downed lines, and stated in a press release they're closely monitoring the storm, “BGE is proactively preparing for the likelihood of wind-related power outages by opening its storm center and notifying employees that they may be needed for storm restoration activity,” said A. Christopher Burton, senior vice president of gas and electric operations and planning for BGE.

“Additionally, BGE is adjusting work schedules to ensure its field forces are positioned to restore electric service as safely and as quickly as possible. We thank our customers in advance for their cooperation and understanding.”

The number to report outages is 877-778-2222, stay clear of downed lines, and call 410-685-0123 to report them.