Alert archive / Colorado / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 33, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

October 3, 201221 counties in Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this red flag warning at Oct 3, 2012, 11:26 AM MDT for 21 counties in Colorado. 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 3, 2012, 11:26 AM MDT (17:26 UTC)
Expired
Oct 3, 2012, 6:00 PM MDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
All 21 counties

Adams County, CO, Arapahoe County, CO, Boulder County, CO, Broomfield County, CO, Clear Creek County, CO, Denver County, CO, Douglas County, CO, Elbert County, CO, Gilpin County, CO, Grand County, CO, Jackson County, CO, Jefferson County, CO, Larimer County, CO, Logan County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Park County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO, Summit County, CO, Washington County, CO, Weld County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 28 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:23 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, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 125 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, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2012-10-03Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2012-10-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 151 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
3560 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
113 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.

291 
WWUS85 KBOU 031727
RFWBOU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
1126 AM MDT WED OCT 3 2012

.DRY WESTERLY WINDS WILL BLOW ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THIS
AFTERNOON PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF A COLD FRONT DURING THE MID TO
LATE AFTERNOON. THESE WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES TO PRODUCE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS.

COZ211-213>216-238>245-248>251-040000-
/O.NEW.KBOU.FW.W.0033.121003T1726Z-121004T0000Z/
JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-
GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-
LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-
JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR
CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-
BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD
COUNTY-
NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND
ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-
ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-
NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-
CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES-LOGAN COUNTY-
WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY-
1126 AM MDT WED OCT 3 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR ALL AREAS BELOW 9000 FEET 
EXCEPT LINCOLN COUNTY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING.

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 211...213...214...215... 
  216...238...239...240...241...242...243...244...245...248...
  249... 250 AND 251.

* TIMING...UNTIL 6 PM MDT.

* WINDS...NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH...
  STRONGEST NEAR THE WYOMING AND NEBRASKA BORDERS

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 8 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS LEADING TO THE
  POSSIBILITY OF RAPID FIRE GROWTH AND EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIORS WILL
  EXIST.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE
OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
166 
WWUS85 KBOU 040010
RFWBOU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
610 PM MDT WED OCT 3 2012


COZ211-213>216-238>245-248>251-040115-
/O.EXP.KBOU.FW.W.0033.000000T0000Z-121004T0000Z/
JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-
GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-
LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-
JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR
CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-
BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD
COUNTY-
NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND
ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-
ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-
NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-
CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES-LOGAN COUNTY-
WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY-
610 PM MDT WED OCT 3 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITY FOR ALL AREAS BELOW 9000 FEET EXCEPT LINCOLN COUNTY...

A STRONG COLD FRONT HAS MOVED ACROSS THE AREA BRINGING MUCH COOLER
AND HIGHER HUMIDITY LEVELS.

$$

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Colorado, 2012Every 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.