Alert archive / Minnesota / Red Flag Warnings in 2011

Red Flag Warning 3, NWS Twin Cities, MN

November 4, 201123 counties in Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this red flag warning at Nov 4, 2011, 3:53 AM CDT for 23 counties in Minnesota. It took effect at Nov 4, 2011, 12:00 PM CDT. 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
Nov 4, 2011, 3:53 AM CDT (08:53 UTC)
In effect from
Nov 4, 2011, 12:00 PM CDT
Expired
Nov 4, 2011, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
All 23 counties

Benton County, MN, Blue Earth County, MN, Brown County, MN, Chippewa County, MN, Douglas County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Kandiyohi County, MN, Lac qui Parle County, MN, Martin County, MN, McLeod County, MN, Meeker County, MN, Morrison County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Pope County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Renville County, MN, Sibley County, MN, Stearns County, MN, Stevens County, MN, Swift County, MN, Todd County, MN, Watonwan County, MN, Yellow Medicine County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:55 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 00:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 102 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 00:00Z on 2011-11-04Temperature 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 00:00Z on 2011-11-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 21 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2748 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 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.

610 
WWUS83 KMPX 040853
RFWMPX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
353 AM CDT FRI NOV 4 2011

...A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL
AND WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA DUE TO THE COMBINATION
OF STRONG WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES...

.MINNESOTA WILL FIND ITSELF IN BETWEEN A STRONG STORM SYSTEM
DEVELOPING IN THE ROCKIES AND AN AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE OFF TO THE
EAST THIS AFTERNOON. THE RESULT WILL BE STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS...
ESPECIALLY IN THE WESTERN HALF OF MINNESOTA. THE WINDS WILL
STRENGTHEN DURING THE LATE MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE
AFTERNOON. SUSTAINED WINDS BETWEEN 20 AND 28 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 30
TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED...ALONG WITH LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES
BETWEEN 12 AND 20 PERCENT.

FURTHERMORE...MANY LOCATIONS IN MINNESOTA HAVE ONLY RECEIVED AN
INCH OR LESS OF RAINFALL SINCE SEPTEMBER...WHICH HAS PRODUCED
VERY DRY FINE FUELS. DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF THESE FACTORS...A
RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS AFTERNOON IN MUCH OF CENTRAL
AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ARE ONLY EXPECTED
TO RISE INTO THE 50S...WHICH MAY TEMPER FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.
HOWEVER...THE STRONG WINDS...VERY LOW HUMIDITY AND VERY DRY FUELS
ARE ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE COOL TEMPERATURES. THE STRONGEST WINDS
WILL BE IN WESTERN MINNESOTA.

MNZ044-045-051>053-059>063-068>070-076>078-084-085-093-041000-
/O.CAN.KMPX.FW.A.0002.111104T1700Z-111104T2300Z/
MILLE LACS-KANABEC-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-
RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-
WASECA-STEELE-FREEBORN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PRINCETON...MORA...ELK RIVER...
CAMBRIDGE...CENTER CITY...MONTICELLO...MINNEAPOLIS...BLAINE...
ST. PAUL...STILLWATER...CHASKA...SHAKOPEE...BURNSVILLE...
LE SUEUR...FARIBAULT...RED WING...WASECA...OWATONNA...ALBERT LEA
353 AM CDT FRI NOV 4 2011

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND 
EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS
CANCELLED THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH. 

SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON TO 15 OR 20 MPH...WITH SOME
GUSTS OF 20 TO 25 MPH POSSIBLE... BUT THAT WILL NOT BE QUITE AS
STRONG AS PREVIOUSLY FORECAST. THEREFORE THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH
HAS BEEN CANCELLED ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM LAKE MILLE LACS
TO ALBERT LEA.

$$

MNZ041>043-047>050-054>058-064>067-073>075-082-083-091-092-041700-
/O.UPG.KMPX.FW.A.0002.111104T1700Z-111104T2300Z/
/O.NEW.KMPX.FW.W.0003.111104T1700Z-111104T2300Z/
DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS-BENTON-LAC QUI PARLE-
SWIFT-CHIPPEWA-KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-
SIBLEY-REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH-MARTIN-
FARIBAULT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALEXANDRIA...LONG PRAIRIE...
LITTLE FALLS...MORRIS...GLENWOOD...ST. CLOUD...FOLEY...MADISON...
BENSON...MONTEVIDEO...WILLMAR...LITCHFIELD...GRANITE FALLS...
OLIVIA...HUTCHINSON...GAYLORD...REDWOOD FALLS...NEW ULM...
ST. PETER...ST. JAMES...MANKATO...FAIRMONT...BLUE EARTH
353 AM CDT FRI NOV 4 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CDT THIS
EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
AND WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED
A RED FLAG WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...WHICH IS
IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 

* AFFECTED AREA...PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH
  CENTRAL MINNESOTA. THIS IS GENERALLY WEST OF A LINE FROM LAKE
  MILLE LACS TO ALBERT LEA.

* WINDS...SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TODAY. BY EARLY AFTERNOON
  SUSTAINED SPEEDS WILL BE BETWEEN 20 AND 28 MPH... WITH GUSTS OF
  30 TO 40 MPH. 

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...LOWEST HUMIDITIES FROM 12 TO 18 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...FIRES COULD BECOME FAST MOVING IN A SHORT PERIOD OF
  TIME DUE TO THE GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY.

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 MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/MPX (ALL LOWER CASE)

The office that day

Everything else NWS Twin Cities, MN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 4, 4:11 AM CDTWind AdvisoryMPXBlue Earth, Brown, Chippewa, Douglas, Faribault, Kandiyohi and 15 more63 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Minnesota, 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.