Windy and dry conditions, plus a lack of rain for nearly a month, are creating high fire danger across the Philadelphia region.

Thursday is not the first day this week of elevated fire concerns and it likely will not be the last. All of the key ingredients needed for rapid fire growth are present in our forecast.

Fire danger has ramped up across the region, and a red flag warning was in place in South Jersey between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday. What does that mean? The dry conditions combined with gusty winds could create the perfect conditions for wildfires that can ignite and spread quickly.

More than two-thirds of the state now has moderate drought conditions and 32% of the state is in a severe drought.

Forest fire crews in New Jersey are preparing in case more fires break out. Fire wardens said they've never seen conditions this dry.

The first areawide red flag warning issued by the NWS Boston/Norton this year is now in effect for all of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The NWS New York office has also included the state of Connecticut in their issuance of the red flag warning, after the alert was issued for CT earlier this week.

The current red flag warning may be expanded across more of the greater Philadelphia region Thursday as a weak cold front swings past and ushers in much cooler air, along with gus

While the recent stretch of dry weather has made for plenty of beautiful days in October, it also creates a potentially dangerous risk. A Red Flag Warning will be in place Thursday for much of New Jersey.