Alert archive / Colorado / Red Flag Warnings in 2011

Red Flag Warning 6, NWS Pueblo, CO

February 28, 2011El Paso County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this red flag warning at Feb 28, 2011, 1:55 PM MST for El Paso County, Colorado. It took effect at Feb 28, 2011, 2:00 PM MST. It was in force for 4 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: Feb 28, 2011, 1:55 PM MST (20:55 UTC)
In effect from: Feb 28, 2011, 2:00 PM MST
Expired: Feb 28, 2011, 6:00 PM MST
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS Pueblo, CO

County El Paso County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:00 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

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 160 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2318 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 162 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 254 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.

455 
WWUS85 KPUB 282055
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
155 PM MST MON FEB 28 2011

...A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES
226 AND 227. THIS INCLUDES MOST OF EL PASO COUNTY...UNTIL 6 PM
TODAY...FOR GUSTY WINDS...LOW HUMIDITIES...AND DRY FUELS...

.THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO...IN COORDINATION WITH
AREA LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES...HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR
EL PASO COUNTY UNTIL 6 PM TODAY. GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES
WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR THE REST OF
THE AFTERNOON.  ERRATIC FIRE BEHAVIOR AND EXTREME RATES OF FIRE
SPREAD WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY FIRE STARTS ACROSS THE WARNING
AREA.

COZ226-227-010100-
/O.NEW.KPUB.FW.W.0006.110228T2100Z-110301T0100Z/
NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY-SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY-
155 PM MST MON FEB 28 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR
GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 226 AND 227...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING. 

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 226 AND 227...WHICH INCLUDES
  MOST OF EL PASO COUNTY.

* WIND...SOUTHWEST 15 TO 30 MPH.

* HUMIDITY...8 TO 13 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR AND  
  RAPID RATES OF FIRE SPREAD.

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.

&&

$$

1 follow-up statement

721 
WWUS85 KPUB 010055
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
555 PM MST MON FEB 28 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING EXPIRES AT 6 PM MST THIS EVENING...

.THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR EL PASO COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM 
THIS EVENING...AS RELATIVE HUMIDITIES CONTINUE TO RISE AND WINDS
DIMINISH.

COZ226-227-010200-
/O.EXP.KPUB.FW.W.0006.000000T0000Z-110301T0100Z/
NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY-SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY-
555 PM MST MON FEB 28 2011

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR 
FIRE WEATHER ZONES 226 AND 227...

THE RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM MST THIS EVENING. 

* THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR EL PASO COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM MST
  AS RELATIVE HUMIDITIES CONTINUE TO RISE AND WINDS DIMINISH.


$$

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Colorado, 2011 Every 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.