Alert archive / Arizona / Red Flag Warnings in 2011

Red Flag Warning 13, NWS Phoenix, AZ

October 25, 2011La Paz County, Yuma County, Arizona; Imperial County, Riverside County, California

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this red flag warning at Oct 25, 2011, 2:41 PM MST for La Paz County, Yuma County, Arizona; Imperial County, Riverside County, California. It took effect at Oct 26, 2011, 2:00 PM MST. It was in force for 7 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
Oct 25, 2011, 2:41 PM MST (21:41 UTC)
In effect from
Oct 26, 2011, 2:00 PM MST
Expired
Oct 26, 2011, 9:00 PM MST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ

Counties La Paz County, AZ, Yuma County, AZ, Imperial County, CA, Riverside County, CA

The radar

The Yuma radar (KYUX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:45 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

Yuma Intl Airpor, AZ (KYUM), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 77 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, Yuma Intl Airpor, AZ at 12:00Z on 2011-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 47 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Yuma Intl Airpor, AZ at 12:00Z on 2011-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -15 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
47 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-257 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2220 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
25 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.

144 
WWUS85 KPSR 252141
RFWPSR

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
241 PM MST TUE OCT 25 2011

AZZ131-CAZ231-260545-
/O.NEW.KPSR.FW.W.0013.111026T2100Z-111027T0400Z/
ARIZONA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 131                                    
YUMA/MARTINEZ LAKE AND VICINITY/LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AZ-
CALIFORNIA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 231                                 
LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY CA-
241 PM MST TUE OCT 25 2011 /241 PM PDT TUE OCT 25 2011/

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM MST /2 PM PDT/ TO 9 PM
MST /9 PM PDT/ WEDNESDAY FOR STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY
AND HIGH FIRE DANGER FOR THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND HIGH FIRE
DANGER...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM MST /2 PM PDT/ TO 9 PM MST /9
PM PDT/ WEDNESDAY. 

* AFFECTED AREA...IN ARIZONA...YUMA/MARTINEZ LAKE AND VICINITY/LOWER
  COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AZ. IN CALIFORNIA...LOWER COLORADO RIVER
  VALLEY CA. THE STRETCH BETWEEN PARKER AND BLYTHE IS MORE LIKELY TO
  REACH RED FLAG CRITERIA THAN THE SOUTHERNMOST STRETCH. 

* WINDS...NORTH 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.

* TIMING...STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON WEDNESDAY WITH
  THE COMBINATION OF LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS BEGINNING MID
  AFTERNOON. 

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 10 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...FUELS ARE VERY DRY AND FIRE DANGER IS HIGH. THESE
  CONDITIONS...COMBINED WITH LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS
  WILL LEAD TO WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE
FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

&&

$$

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX IS ON THE INTERNET AT

WEATHER.GOV/PHOENIX

AJ
1 follow-up statement
206 
WWUS85 KPSR 261148
RFWPSR

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
448 AM MST WED OCT 26 2011

AZZ131-CAZ231-270400-
/O.CON.KPSR.FW.W.0013.111026T2100Z-111027T0400Z/
ARIZONA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 131                                    
YUMA/MARTINEZ LAKE AND VICINITY/LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AZ-
CALIFORNIA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 231                                 
LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY CA-
448 AM MST WED OCT 26 2011 /448 AM PDT WED OCT 26 2011/

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM MST /2 PM PDT/
THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM MST /9 PM PDT/ THIS EVENING FOR STRONG
WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND HIGH FIRE DANGER FOR THE LOWER
COLORADO RIVER VALLEY...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM MST /2 PM PDT/
THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM MST /9 PM PDT/ THIS EVENING. 

* AFFECTED AREA...IN ARIZONA...YUMA/MARTINEZ LAKE AND 
  VICINITY/LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AZ. IN CALIFORNIA...LOWER 
  COLORADO RIVER VALLEY CA. THE STRETCH BETWEEN PARKER AND 
  BLYTHE IS MORE LIKELY TO REACH RED FLAG CRITERIA THAN THE 
  SOUTHERNMOST STRETCH. 

* WINDS...NORTH 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.

* TIMING...STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND LINGER INTO
  THIS EVENING. 

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 10 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...FUELS ARE VERY DRY AND FIRE DANGER IS HIGH. THESE 
  CONDITIONS...COMBINED WITH LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND STRONG 
  WINDS WILL LEAD TO WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS FIRE WEATHER 
  CONDITIONS. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE
FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

&&

$$

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX IS ON THE INTERNET AT

WEATHER.GOV/PHOENIX

The office that day

Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 2:22 PM MSTWind AdvisoryPSR6 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Arizona, 2011Red Flag Warnings in California, 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.