Alert archive / Colorado / Red Flag Warnings in 2008

Red Flag Warning 8, NWS Pueblo, CO

April 16, 20085 counties in Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this red flag warning at Apr 16, 2008, 5:01 AM MDT for 5 counties in Colorado. It took effect at Apr 16, 2008, 9:00 AM MDT. It was in force for 9 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 16, 2008, 5:01 AM MDT (11:01 UTC)
In effect from
Apr 16, 2008, 9:00 AM MDT
Expired
Apr 16, 2008, 6:00 PM MDT
In force
9 hr
Issued by
NWS Pueblo, CO

Counties Alamosa County, CO, Conejos County, CO, Costilla County, CO, Rio Grande County, CO, Saguache County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 190 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:01 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

Grand Junction, CO (KGJT), launched 00:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 279 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, Grand Junction, CO at 00:00Z on 2008-04-16Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Grand Junction, CO at 00:00Z on 2008-04-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
5564 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
76 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 
WWUS85 KPUB 161101
RFWPUB

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
501 AM MDT WED APR 16 2008

...A RED FLAG WARNING FOR STRONG WIND GUSTS...LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES...AND DRY FUELS...IS EXPECTED FROM 0900 THROUGH 1800
LOCAL...FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONE 224 BELOW 8000 FEET...WHICH INCLUDES
THE SAN LUIS VALLEY...

.THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO...IN COORDINATION WITH
AREA LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES...HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR
THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING FOR THE SAN LUIS VALLEY
BELOW 8000 FEET. GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA
THIS MORNING...WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITIES DROPPING BELOW 15%. THIS
IN COMBINATION WITH THE HIGH FIRE DANGER WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL
FIRE WEATHER PARAMETERS...WITH EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR POSSIBLE WITH
ANY WILD FIRE STARTS. 

COZ224-170000-
/O.NEW.KPUB.FW.W.0008.080416T1500Z-080417T0000Z/
SAN LUIS VALLEY-
501 AM MDT WED APR 16 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM MDT
THIS AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM MDT
THIS AFTERNOON. 

GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH WILL 
SPREAD ACROSS THE SAN LUIS VALLEY BY MID MORNING. RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES HAVE EXPERIENCED POOR RECOVERY OVERNIGHT...AND WITH THE
INCREASE IN WINDS...WILL QUICKLY DROP BELOW 15% BY AFTERNOON. THIS
IN COMBINATION WITH THE DRY FUELS...WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. A
DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS
THE SAN LUIS VALLEY TONIGHT.  

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.

$$
2 follow-up statements
000 
WWUS85 KPUB 162106
RFWPUB

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
306 PM MDT WED APR 16 2008

...A RED FLAG WARNING FOR STRONG WIND GUSTS...LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES...AND DRY FUELS...IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1800 LOCAL...FOR
FIRE WEATHER ZONE 224 BELOW 8000 FEET...WHICH INCLUDES THE SAN
LUIS VALLEY...

.THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO...IN COORDINATION WITH
AREA LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES...IS CONTINUING A RED FLAG WARNING
THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING FOR THE SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8000
FEET. GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS HAVE SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA
TODAY...WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITIES DROPPING BELOW 15%. COMBINED WITH
THE HIGH FIRE DANGER...THIS WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
PARAMETERS...WITH EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR POSSIBLE WITH ANY WILD
FIRE STARTS.

COZ224-170000-
/O.CON.KPUB.FW.W.0008.000000T0000Z-080417T0000Z/
SAN LUIS VALLEY-
306 PM MDT WED APR 16 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS
AFTERNOON...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS
AFTERNOON. 

GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH
WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE SAN LUIS VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES BELOW 15% HAVE CONTINUED ACROSS THE AREA. THIS IN
COMBINATION WITH THE DRY FUELS...WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. A DEVELOPING STORM
SYSTEM WILL SPREAD RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE SAN LUIS
VALLEY TONIGHT.

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.

$$
000 
WWUS85 KPUB 170000
RFWPUB

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
600 PM MDT WED APR 16 2008

...THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE SAN LUIS VALLEY WILL EXPIRE AT 6
PM MDT THIS EVENING..

.MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVER THE SAN LUIS VALLEY THIS
EVENING...AS AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM DEVELOPS OVER COLORADO.
THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL PRODUCE IMPROVING FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
OVER THE AREA TONIGHT...WITH EVEN A FEW RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS
POSSIBLE BY EARLY MORNING. 

COZ224-170100-
/O.EXP.KPUB.FW.W.0008.000000T0000Z-080417T0000Z/
SAN LUIS VALLEY-
600 PM MDT WED APR 16 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM MDT THIS AFTERNOON...

THE RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM MDT THIS AFTERNOON. 

RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES HAVE IMPROVED TO ABOVE 15 PERCENT...AND
THE THREAT OF WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS HAS
ENDED ACROSS THE SAN LUIS VALLEY. 

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pueblo, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 4:19 AM MDTSnow AdvisoryPUBChaffee, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Lake, Saguache25 hr
Apr 16, 4:19 AM MDTWinter Storm WarningPUBAlamosa, Chaffee, Costilla, Custer, El Paso, Fremont and 6 more32 hr
Apr 16, 7:12 AM MDTSnow and Blowing Snow AdvisoryPUBCuster, El Paso, Fremont, Huerfano, Las Animas, Pueblo and 1 more29 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Colorado, 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.