Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2008

Red Flag Warning 21, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 19, 200839 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this red flag warning at Nov 19, 2008, 3:32 AM CST for 39 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Nov 19, 2008, 12:00 PM CST. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Nov 19, 2008, 3:32 AM CST (09:32 UTC)
In effect from: Nov 19, 2008, 12:00 PM CST
Expired: Nov 19, 2008, 4:00 PM CST
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL

All 39 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Marion County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:36 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 23 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 2476 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WWUS84 KBMX 190932
RFWBMX

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
332 AM CST WED NOV 19 2008

...HIGH FIRE DANGER TODAY ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...

.WITH CLEAR SKIES AND A DRY AIR MASS IN PLACE...TEMPERATURES WILL
RISE INTO THE MID 50S THIS AFTERNOON AND DEWPOINTS WILL PLUNGE
INTO THE TEENS. THIS WILL PRODUCE A PROLONGED PERIOD OF LOW
HUMIDITY THIS AFTERNOON...RESULTING IN A HIGH FIRE DANGER.

ALZ011>015-017>050-191745-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FW.W.0021.081119T1800Z-081119T2200Z/
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-
TALLADEGA-CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-
COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-
MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
332 AM CST WED NOV 19 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 4 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 4 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON. 

TEMPERATURES RISING INTO THE 50S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE TEENS WILL
RESULT IN A PROLONGED PERIOD OF LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AFTERNOON...
RESULTING IN A HIGH FIRE DANGER.

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND DAYTIME HEATING WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE
FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE FIRE CONDITIONS...PLEASE
CONTACT THE ALABAMA FORESTRY COMMISSION AT
WWW.FORESTRY.ALABAMA.GOV.

$$

JD/81

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS84 KBMX 191647
RFWBMX

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1047 AM CST WED NOV 19 2008

...HIGH FIRE DANGER THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...

.WITH CLEAR SKIES AND A DRY AIR MASS IN PLACE...TEMPERATURES WILL
RISE INTO THE MID 50S THIS AFTERNOON AND DEWPOINTS WILL PLUNGE
INTO THE TEENS. THIS WILL PRODUCE A PROLONGED PERIOD OF LOW
HUMIDITY THIS AFTERNOON...RESULTING IN A HIGH FIRE DANGER.

ALZ011>015-017>050-192200-
/O.CON.KBMX.FW.W.0021.081119T1800Z-081119T2200Z/
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-
TALLADEGA-CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-
COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-
MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
1047 AM CST WED NOV 19 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON. 

TEMPERATURES RISING INTO THE 50S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE TEENS WILL
RESULT IN A PROLONGED PERIOD OF LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AFTERNOON...
 RESULTING IN A HIGH FIRE DANGER.

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF LOW
RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND DAYTIME HEATING WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE
GROWTH POTENTIAL.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE FIRE CONDITIONS...PLEASE
CONTACT THE ALABAMA FORESTRY COMMISSION AT
WWW.FORESTRY.ALABAMA.GOV.

$$

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Alabama, 2008 Every red flag warning in 2008

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.