The dangerously dry conditions that contributed to dozens of wildfires across the state last week are forecast to continue through this week.
Dry conditions and low relative humidity are expected across most of the state this week, said Eric Green, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock.
Arkansas has received a below average amount of rainfall for the last month or two, Green said Monday morning.
"That lack of rainfall caused drought conditions to pop up across the state," he said. "We haven't really seen widespread rain, sometimes local areas can receive a lot of rain with storms, but we haven't seen much outside of that."
Beyond drought conditions, Green said low relative humidity, which is a measure of moisture in the air, also doesn't help conditions.
Green said the strong winds that contributed to the rapid spread of last week's fires have died down this week.
"I've been here five years and had not seen anything as bad as we did with fire last week," Green said. "It was fairly unusual for us in Arkansas, you might expect to see something like that more west in the United States but not here. The wind played a big part in that last week."
Strong wind gusts of 50 mph to 60 mph were record last week, he said, with background winds blowing between 30 mph to 40 mph.
"They were borderline windstorms," the forecaster said. "But this week, the wind won't be as big of a player, it should remain out of the equation."
Winds on Monday are set to be near or below 10 mph to 15 mph, the National Weather Service said Monday morning.
Even without the wind, though, Arkansans should still be mindful of the dry conditions.
The entire state is at a high risk for fire danger as of Monday just after 12:30 p.m., according to the Arkansas Forestry Division.
Additionally, most counties in Arkansas, including Pulaski, are under a burn ban.
Green said Arkansans should be careful with any activities that might cause an outdoor ignition.
"That could be anything from a campfire, to parking a car in tall, dry grass or dragging chains," he said. "Anything with an open flame outside could be dangerous in dry conditions."