Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 16, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 12, 201232 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this red flag warning at Apr 12, 2012, 4:01 AM CDT for 32 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Apr 12, 2012, 1:00 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: Apr 12, 2012, 4:01 AM CDT (09:01 UTC)
In effect from: Apr 12, 2012, 1:00 PM CDT
Expired: Apr 12, 2012, 7:00 PM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL

All 32 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, Elmore County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marion County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:06 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, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 41 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: 2373 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -8 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.

444 
WWUS84 KBMX 120901
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
401 AM CDT THU APR 12 2012

...HIGH FIRE DANGER THIS AFTERNOON...

ALZ011>015-017>021-023>029-034>038-041>050-130000-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FW.W.0016.120412T1800Z-120413T0000Z/
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-TALLADEGA-
CLAY-RANDOLPH-BIBB-CHILTON-COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-AUTAUGA-
LOWNDES-ELMORE-MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
401 AM CDT THU APR 12 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 PM
CDT THIS EVENING FOR MUCH 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 7 PM CDT
THIS EVENING. 

* WINDS...EAST 5 TO 10 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 20 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...THE DRY AIRMASS 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
HUMIDITY WILL CREATE 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

882 
WWUS84 KBMX 130007
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
707 PM CDT THU APR 12 2012

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

ALZ011>015-017>021-023>029-034>038-041>050-130115-
/O.EXP.KBMX.FW.W.0016.000000T0000Z-120413T0000Z/
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-TALLADEGA-
CLAY-RANDOLPH-BIBB-CHILTON-COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-AUTAUGA-
LOWNDES-ELMORE-MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
707 PM CDT THU APR 12 2012

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

THE RED FLAG WARNING IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 

$$

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.