A combination of dry air and high winds caused the National Weather Service to put much of eastern Kansas, including Douglas County, under a fire weather watch today.

Wind gusts in Lawrence today will range from 30 to 40 mph, 6News meteorologist Matt Elwell said. Lawrence is already 5.39 inches below the average rainfall total for this date, weather records show.

On Tuesday, Red Lodge, Mont., recorded wind gusts of 100 mph, Elwell said. “That’s the system that is coming our way, although it will lose some of its punch by the time it comes down,” he said.

The fire weather watch goes into effect at 10 a.m. today and will last until 6 p.m. Today’s high is expected to be 57, Elwell said.