As the South continues to bake under dangerous heat, fire weather persists in the West and Northwest

Dangerous record-breaking heat is expected to continue in the South on Sunday and a prolonged heat wave in the region is poised to stretch into the workweek.

Extreme heat warnings are in effect on Sunday across a large part of Texas, from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to Wichita Falls and Austin. Heat indices, which factor in humidity, will make the temperature feel like 110 degrees.

Heat advisories are also in effect on Sunday from Amarillo, Texas, to Oklahoma City and down to New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi.

Fire weather continues in the Northwest and West

Dry and warm conditions are expected to persist on Sunday in parts of the Northwest and West, prompting red-flag warnings in some areas and posing challenges to firefighters battling a major wildfire in Nevada.

While the fire threat is expected to be lower on Sunday for the West, where the Hawk Fire has burned more than 10,500 acres near Reno, Nev., it remains near-elevated for parts of the Northwest into the northern Rockies.

High temperatures across parts of the West will be in the 90s on Sunday and into the new workweek in Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; and Reno, Nev.

The Hawk Fire, which ignited on Saturday in the hills northwest of Reno, rapidly grew overnight to 10,500 acres, prompting numerous evacuations and threatening hundreds of homes, according to the latest update from the National Interagency Fire Center.

Wind gusts of up to 30 mph were reported in the Reno area and gusts up to 40 mph were reported on Saturday in the mountainous areas and on downslopes where the Hawk Fire is burning.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency on Saturday for Washoe County as firefighters and emergency crews respond to the Hawk Fire.

In addition to the wildfire threat, severe thunderstorms are also possible in the West on Sunday. There is also a slight risk for severe storms for parts of the northern Plains, much of central Montana, and portions of the eastern Great Basin region, including Salt Lake City, Billings, Mont. and into Pocatello, Idaho. The main threats from these storms are expected to be damaging winds and large hail.

Damaging winds and large hail are the main threats with these storms, but some isolated storms could also produce spotty flooding. Lightning is also possible with these storms.

Due to dry conditions across the West, including extreme snow drought from this winter and lack of appreciable rain over the spring and summer, there is plenty of dry fuel available for lightning to ignite new fires, especially with any dry thunderstorms on Sunday.