Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2011

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Birmingham, AL

January 2, 201139 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this red flag warning at Jan 2, 2011, 2:54 PM CST for 39 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Jan 3, 2011, 11:00 AM CST. It was in force for 6 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
Jan 2, 2011, 2:54 PM CST (20:54 UTC)
In effect from
Jan 3, 2011, 11:00 AM CST
Expired
Jan 3, 2011, 5:00 PM CST
In force
6 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 20:59 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 12:00Z, 8.9 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2011-01-02Temperature 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2011-01-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -8 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
1373 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
73 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
214 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.

023 
WWUS84 KBMX 022054
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
254 PM CST SUN JAN 2 2011

...DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED ON MONDAY...

ALZ011>015-017>050-030500-
/O.UPG.KBMX.FW.A.0001.110103T1700Z-110103T2300Z/
/O.NEW.KBMX.FW.W.0001.110103T1700Z-110103T2300Z/
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-
254 PM CST SUN JAN 2 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 5 PM CST MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 5 PM CST MONDAY. THE
FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 

VERY LOW SURFACE DEW POINTS AND OVERALL DRY ATMOSPHERE WILL DROP
THE MINIMUM AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES INTO THE LOWER 20S AREA
WIDE. THESE LOW HUMIDITIES WILL LAST SEVERAL HOURS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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. 

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

&&

$$
2 follow-up statements
184 
WWUS84 KBMX 030107
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
707 PM CST SUN JAN 2 2011

...DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED ON MONDAY...

ALZ011>015-017>050-031200-
/O.CON.KBMX.FW.W.0001.110103T1700Z-110103T2300Z/
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-
707 PM CST SUN JAN 2 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 5 PM CST
MONDAY...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 5 PM CST
MONDAY. VERY LOW SURFACE DEW POINTS AND OVERALL DRY ATMOSPHERE
WILL DROP THE MINIMUM AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES INTO THE LOWER
20S AREA WIDE. THESE LOW HUMIDITIES WILL LAST SEVERAL HOURS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

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

&&

$$

08/MNK
649 
WWUS84 KBMX 031112
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
512 AM CST MON JAN 3 2011

...DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED ON MONDAY...

ALZ011>015-017>050-032300-
/O.CON.KBMX.FW.W.0001.110103T1700Z-110103T2300Z/
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-
512 AM CST MON JAN 3 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO
5 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON...

RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL DROP BELOW 25 PERCENT FOR SEVERAL HOURS
THIS AFTERNOON.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

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

&&

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 2, 11:24 AM CSTFire Weather WatchBMXAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun and 33 more4 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Alabama, 2011Every red flag warning in 2011

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.