Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 15, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 11, 201239 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this red flag warning at Apr 11, 2012, 4:26 AM CDT for 39 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Apr 11, 2012, 1:00 PM CDT. It was in force for 5 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: Apr 11, 2012, 4:26 AM CDT (09:26 UTC)
In effect from: Apr 11, 2012, 1:00 PM CDT
Expired: Apr 11, 2012, 6:00 PM CDT
In force: 5 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 09:26 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 00:00Z, 9.4 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-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: 41 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -47 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1432 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 50 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 103 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: -0.0
Supercell composite: -0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

565 
WWUS84 KBMX 110926
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
426 AM CDT WED APR 11 2012

...VERY DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON...

.RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL DROP TO 25 PERCENT OR BELOW FOR
AROUND 4 TO 6 HOURS THIS AFTERNOON.

ALZ011>015-017>050-112300-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FW.W.0015.120411T1800Z-120411T2300Z/
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-
426 AM CDT WED APR 11 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 PM
CDT THIS EVENING FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 PM CDT
THIS EVENING. 

* WINDS...NORTH 5 TO 10 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 22 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...A VERY DRY AIRMASS EXPECTED FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF
  TIME THIS AFTERNOON WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
  CONDITIONS. OUTDOOR BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME WILL CREATE THE
POSSIBILITY OF EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

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

&&

$$

1 follow-up statement

911 
WWUS84 KBMX 112321
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
621 PM CDT WED APR 11 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA...

ALZ011>015-017>050-120030-
/O.EXP.KBMX.FW.W.0015.000000T0000Z-120411T2300Z/
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-
621 PM CDT WED APR 11 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA...

THE RED FLAG WARNING IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 

$$

27

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 11, 3:14 AM CDT	Frost Advisory	BMX	Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne and 13 more	29 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Alabama, 2012 Every red flag warning in 2012

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.