Alert archive / Texas / Red Flag Warnings in 2011

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Brownsville, TX

January 9, 2011Hidalgo County, Starr County, Zapata County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this red flag warning at Jan 9, 2011, 3:56 PM CST for Hidalgo County, Starr County, Zapata County, Texas. It was in force for 3 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 9, 2011, 3:56 PM CST (21:56 UTC)
Expired
Jan 9, 2011, 7:00 PM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX

Counties Hidalgo County, TX, Starr County, TX, Zapata County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 151 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:59 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

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 154 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2011-01-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 964 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2011-01-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 370 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
964 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
511 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
73 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
370 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
451 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.6
Supercell composite
14.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

764 
WWUS84 KBRO 092156
RFWBRO

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
356 PM CST SUN JAN 9 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING FOR A PORTION OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS...

.MODERATE WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WITH FREQUENT BREEZY GUSTS 
WILL COMBINE WITH CURED FUELS AND VERY DRY AIR WITH LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES TO PRODUCE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR WILDFIRE
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING.

TXZ248-252-253-100100-
/O.NEW.KBRO.FW.W.0001.110109T2156Z-110110T0100Z/
ZAPATA-STARR-HIDALGO-
356 PM CST SUN JAN 9 2011

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR ZAPATA...
STARR...AND HIDALGO COUNTY.

VERY DRY AIR WITH LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES IS POURING INTO THE
SOUTHWEST PORTION OF DEEP SOUTH TEXAS ON MODERATE WEST TO NORTHWEST
WINDS WITH OCCASIONAL BREEZY GUSTS. THESE WINDS AND DRY AIR WILL
COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT CURED FUELS TO PRODUCE CONDITIONS THAT ARE
FAVORABLE FOR WILDFIRE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT SHOULD ANY WILDFIRE
ACTIVITY INITIATE.

WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WITH FREQUENT GUSTS OF 25
TO 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE NEXT FEW HOURS...WITH RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES OF ROUGHLY 15 TO 25 PERCENT. 

WILDFIRE CONDITIONS WILL BECOME LESS ROBUST LATER IN THE EVENING
AS WINDS DIMINISH AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY PERCENTAGES INCREASE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. THESE CONDITIONS INCLUDE
SUSTAINED 20 FOOT WINDS OF 25 MPH OR GREATER AND CURED FUELS...OR
THE COMBINATION OF RELATIVE HUMIDITY BELOW 35 PERCENT FOR 2 HOURS
OR MORE AND SUSTAINED 20 FOOT WINDS OF 25 MPH OR HIGHER WHEN
FUELS ARE NOT CURED. THESE CONDITIONS WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE
GROWTH POTENTIAL.

$$

TOMASELLI

The office that day

Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 9, 2:49 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROZapata26 min
Jan 9, 3:48 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROBrooks42 min
Jan 9, 4:10 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningBRO3 hr
Jan 9, 4:24 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROKenedy51 min
Jan 9, 5:30 AM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryBROBrooks, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Willacy2 hr
Jan 9, 6:38 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningBRO2 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Texas, 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.