Gusty winds with dry and hot air are increasing the risk of wildfires across the northern Plains through Friday. Just south across the central Plains, the storm threat increases.

A low pressure system will move across the central Canadian Plains tonight and pull a cold front across the central and northern Plains on Friday. As visible on the WindRadar, high winds develop south of the low pressure system, producing 35-mph gusty winds across the northern Plains Friday.

Prevalent drought conditions could cause fires to spread in the high winds, so heed all fire burn bans.

The cold front, interacting with unseasonably hot temperatures across Texas and the central Plains, will trigger strong storms tonight and Friday across the central Plains into the Midwest. The WeatherRadar can be used to track these storms.

This will be the first of several rounds of storms over the next several days as several storm systems roll across the Rockies and the northern Plains through the weekend.