Alert archive / Minnesota / Red Flag Warnings in 2008

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Twin Cities, MN

April 23, 200813 counties in Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this red flag warning at Apr 23, 2008, 1:11 PM CDT for 13 counties in Minnesota. It took effect at Apr 23, 2008, 3:00 PM CDT. 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
Apr 23, 2008, 1:11 PM CDT (18:11 UTC)
In effect from
Apr 23, 2008, 3:00 PM CDT
Expired
Apr 23, 2008, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN

Counties Blue Earth County, MN, Brown County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, Martin County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Rice County, MN, Steele County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Watonwan County, MN, Yellow Medicine County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:13 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 94 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2008-04-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2008-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 127 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
2668 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
336 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 
WWUS83 KMPX 231811
RFWMPX

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
111 PM CDT WED APR 23 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON
FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND STRONG SOUTH WINDS...

.INCREASING SOUTH WINDS COMBINED WITH VERY DRY AIR WILL CREATE A
DANGEROUS WILDFIRE THREAT IN SOUTH CENTRAL INTO SOUTHWEST
MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON. BY 3 PM CDT MUCH OF THE AREA SHOULD SEE
WIND SPEEDS OF 20 MPH WITH STRONGER GUSTS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY
FROM 20 TO 25 PERCENT. A FEW STATIONS MAY RECORD RELATIVE
HUMIDITY IN THE TEENS. 

DURING THE EVENING HOURS WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY...BUT RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES WILL BEGIN TO RISE AS TEMPERATURES BEGIN TO COOL.

THESE GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY VALUES ARE AHEAD OF STRONG LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING INTO WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. 


MNZ064-073>077-082>085-091>093-240000-
/O.NEW.KMPX.FW.W.0001.080423T2000Z-080424T0000Z/
YELLOW MEDICINE-REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-WATONWAN-
BLUE EARTH-WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-
111 PM CDT WED APR 23 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED
A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM UNTIL 7 PM CDT
THIS EVENING.

INCREASING SOUTH WINDS COMBINED WITH VERY DRY AIR WILL CREATE A
DANGEROUS WILDFIRE THREAT IN SOUTH CENTRAL INTO SOUTHWEST
MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON. BY 3 PM CDT MUCH OF THE AREA SHOULD SEE
WIND SPEEDS OF 20 MPH WITH STRONGER GUSTS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY
FROM 20 TO 25 PERCENT. A FEW STATIONS MAY RECORD RELATIVE
HUMIDITY IN THE TEENS. 

DURING THE EVENING HOURS WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY...BUT RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES WILL BEGIN TO RISE AS TEMPERATURES BEGIN TO COOL. 

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

$$
BAP

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Minnesota, 2008Every 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.