Alert archive / New Mexico / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 4, NWS El Paso, TX

February 22, 20127 counties in New Mexico; El Paso County, Hudspeth County, Texas

NWS El Paso, TX issued this red flag warning at Feb 22, 2012, 1:17 PM MST for 7 counties in New Mexico; El Paso County, Hudspeth County, Texas. It took effect at Feb 23, 2012, 11:00 AM MST. It was in force for 8 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 22, 2012, 1:17 PM MST (20:17 UTC)
In effect from
Feb 23, 2012, 11:00 AM MST
Expired
Feb 23, 2012, 7:00 PM MST
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS El Paso, TX

Counties Doña Ana County, NM, Grant County, NM, Hidalgo County, NM, Lincoln County, NM, Luna County, NM, Otero County, NM, Sierra County, NM, El Paso County, TX, Hudspeth County, TX

The radar

The El Paso radar (KEPZ), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:21 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

Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 64 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 12:00Z on 2012-02-22Temperature 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 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Santa Teresa, NM at 12:00Z on 2012-02-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -120 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
3638 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-120 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-111 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.

682 
WWUS84 KEPZ 222017
RFWEPZ

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
117 PM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FOR FAR WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST
NEW MEXICO FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM THURSDAY DUE TO STRONG WINDS AND
LOW HUMIDITY WITH HIGH FIRE DANGER RATINGS...

.AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVING MOVING OUT OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES
AND A SURFACE LOW DEVELOPING OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO WILL CAUSE
A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY. THIS WILL SET
UP CONDITIONS ALLOWING WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH ACROSS THE AREA.
MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN THE LOW TO MIDDLE TEENS COMBINED WITH
THE STRONG WINDS AND HIGH FIRE DANGER RATINGS WILL CREATE CRITICAL
FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS OVER THE LOWLANDS OF SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO
AND FAR WEST TEXAS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

NMZ111-112-TXZ055-056-231200-
/O.UPG.KEPZ.FW.A.0003.120223T1800Z-120224T0100Z/
/O.NEW.KEPZ.FW.W.0004.120223T1800Z-120224T0200Z/
SOUTHWEST DESERTS AND LOWLANDS-
SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS AND SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE VALLEY-EL PASO-
HUDSPETH-
117 PM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM MST THURSDAY FOR
STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 055...056...111
AND 112...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA HAS
ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM
MST THURSDAY. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 

* EVENT: FIRE WEATHER ZONE 111 ...SOUTHWEST DESERTS AND 
  LOWLANDS. FIRE WEATHER ZONE 112 SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS AND 
  SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE VALLEY. FIRE WEATHER ZONE 055 EL PASO... 
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 056 HUDSPETH. 

* TIMING: FROM ...11 AM TO 7 PM MST THURSDAY.

* WIND: WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH GUSTING TO 35 MPH.

* HUMIDITY: RELATIVE HUMIDITY FALLING TO NEAR OR BELOW 15 PERCENT
  ACROSS THE LOWLANDS OF FAR WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO.

* IMPACTS...ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY.
  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. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXTREME FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

$$

PARK
1 follow-up statement
891 
WWUS84 KEPZ 231325
RFWEPZ

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
625 AM MST THU FEB 23 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FOR FAR WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST
NEW MEXICO FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM TODAY DUE TO STRONG WINDS AND LOW
HUMIDITY WITH HIGH FIRE DANGER RATINGS...

.AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVING OUT OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES AND A
SURFACE LOW DEVELOPING OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO WILL CAUSE A TIGHT
PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY. THIS WILL SET UP
CONDITIONS ALLOWING WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH TO DEVELOP ACROSS
THE AREA. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN THE LOW TO MIDDLE TEENS
COMBINED WITH THE STRONG WINDS AND HIGH FIRE DANGER RATINGS WILL
CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS OVER THE LOWLANDS OF
SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL NEW MEXICO AND FAR WEST TEXAS
THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

NMZ111-112-TXZ055-056-240000-
/O.CON.KEPZ.FW.W.0004.120223T1800Z-120224T0200Z/
SOUTHWEST DESERTS AND LOWLANDS-
SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS AND SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE VALLEY-EL PASO-
HUDSPETH-
625 AM MST THU FEB 23 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO
7 PM MST THIS EVENING DUE TO STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR NEW
MEXICO FIRE ZONES 111 AND 112 AND TEXAS FIRE ZONES 055 AND 056...

* TIMING: FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM MST TODAY.

* WIND: WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH GUSTING TO 35 MPH AT THE 20
  FOOT LEVEL.

* HUMIDITY: RH FALLING BELOW 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY. 
  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. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXTREME FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

$$

HARDIMAN

The office that day

Everything else NWS El Paso, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 22, 7:02 AM MSTFire Weather WatchEPZDoña Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, Otero and 1 more6 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in New Mexico, 2012Red Flag Warnings in Texas, 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.