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This indicates the rate fire will spread in its early stages. It is calculated from the FFMC rating and the wind factor.

The open-ended ISI scale starts at zero and a rating of 10 indicates high rate of spread shortly after ignition. A rating of 19 or more indicates extremely rapid rate of spread.

The DC is a numerical rating of the moisture content of deep, compact, organic layers. It is a useful indicator of seasonal drought and shows the likelihood of fire involving the deep duff layers and large logs. A long period of dry weather (the system uses 52 days) is needed to dry out these fuels and affect the Drought Code. A DC rating of 200 is high, and 300 or more is extreme indicating that fire will involve deep sub-surface and heavy fuels. Burning off should not be permitted when the DC rating is above 300.

DMC is a numerical rating of the average moisture content of loosely compacted organic layers of moderate depth. The code indicates the depth that fire will burn in moderate duff layers and medium size woody material. Duff layers take longer than surface fuels to dry out but weather conditions over the past couple of weeks will significantly affect the DMC. The system applies a time lag of 12 days to calculate the DMC. A DMC rating of more than 30 is dry, and above 40 indicates that intensive burning will occur in the duff and medium fuels.

This index shows the amount of fuel available for combustion, indicating how the fire will develop after initial spread. It is calculated from the Duff Moisture Code and the Drought Code.

The BUI scale starts at zero and is open-ended. A rating above 34 is high, above 77 is extreme.

This is a numerical rating of the moisture content of surface litter and other cured fine fuels. It shows the relative ease of ignition and flammability of fine fuels. The moisture content of fine fuels is very sensitive to the weather. Even a day of rain, or of fine and windy weather, will significantly affect the FFMC rating. The system uses a time lag of two-thirds of a day to accurately measure the moisture content in fine fuels. The FFMC rating is on a scale of 0 to 99. Any figure above 70 is high, and above 90 is extreme.

Charlotte County Weather uses the highest temperature of the day recorded by our weather station in the heart of Port Charlotte. All data is processed just prior to midnight in an effort to have the largest sampling of data possible for the day prior to final data point selection and calculations.

Charlotte County Weather uses the lowest humidity of the day as recoded by our weather station in the heart of Port Charlotte. All data is processed just prior to midnight in an effort to have the largest sampling of data possible for the day prior to final data point selection and calculations.

Charlotte County Weather uses the average wind speed for the entire day from the heart of Port Charlotte in our calculations. All data is processed just prior to midnight in an effort to have the largest sampling of data possible, prior to final data point selection and calculations.

Total Rainfall mesurement for the previous 24 hours from the heart of Port Charlotte are utilized in several of the above calculations, for this reason all data is processed just prior to midnight in an effort to have the largest sampling of data possible for the day prior to final calculations.