Alert archive / Kansas / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 4, NWS Hastings, NE

February 29, 20125 counties in Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this red flag warning at Feb 29, 2012, 3:59 AM CST for 5 counties in Kansas. It took effect at Feb 29, 2012, 12:00 PM CST. 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
Feb 29, 2012, 3:59 AM CST (09:59 UTC)
In effect from
Feb 29, 2012, 12:00 PM CST
Expired
Feb 29, 2012, 6:00 PM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE

Counties Mitchell County, KS, Osborne County, KS, Phillips County, KS, Rooks County, KS, Smith County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:00 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

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 215 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2012-02-29Temperature 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2012-02-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -117 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
3640 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
71 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-117 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
174 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.

864 
WWUS83 KGID 290959
RFWGID

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
359 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED TODAY...

.THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS...DRY
FUELS...AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON. 

KSZ005-006-017>019-291800-
/O.NEW.KGID.FW.W.0004.120229T1800Z-120301T0000Z/
PHILLIPS-SMITH-ROOKS-OSBORNE-MITCHELL-
359 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS
EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES
005...006...017...018 AND 019...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING. 

* AFFECTED AREA...IN KANSAS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 005 PHILLIPS... 
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 006 SMITH...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 017 ROOKS...
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 018 OSBORNE AND FIRE WEATHER ZONE 019 
  MITCHELL.

* WINDS...WEST TO NORTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH
  ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THIS AFTERNOON.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...VALUES ACROSS WESTERN LOCATIONS ARE EXPECTED
  TO DROP BELOW 20 PERCENT...WHILE FURTHER EAST WILL DROP AS LOW
  AS 20 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...THE DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON WILL
  PROMOTE DANGEROUS FIRE BEHAVIOR. OUTDOOR BURNING SHOULD BE
  AVOIDED...AND CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED WHEN CONDUCTING ANY
  ACTIVITIES WHILE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE. 

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.

&&

$$

ADO
2 follow-up statements
258 
WWUS83 KGID 291757
RFWGID

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1157 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON...

.THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS...DRY FUELS...
AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON.

KSZ005-006-017>019-010000-
/O.CON.KGID.FW.W.0004.120229T1800Z-120301T0000Z/
PHILLIPS-SMITH-ROOKS-OSBORNE-MITCHELL-
1157 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING
FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 005...
006...017...018 AND 019...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING.

* AFFECTED AREA...IN KANSAS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 005 PHILLIPS... 
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 006 SMITH...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 017 ROOKS... 
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 018 OSBORNE AND FIRE WEATHER ZONE 019 
  MITCHELL. 

* WINDS...WEST TO NORTHWEST 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH
  ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...VALUES ACROSS WESTERN LOCATIONS ARE 
  EXPECTED TO DROP BELOW 20 PERCENT...WHILE FURTHER EAST WILL 
  DROP AS LOW AS 20 PERCENT. 

* IMPACTS...THE DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON WILL 
  PROMOTE DANGEROUS FIRE BEHAVIOR. OUTDOOR BURNING SHOULD BE 
  AVOIDED...AND CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED WHEN CONDUCTING ANY 
  ACTIVITIES WHILE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE. 

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.

&&

$$

WESELY
883 
WWUS83 KGID 292351
RFWGID

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
551 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012

KSZ005-006-017>019-010100-
/O.EXP.KGID.FW.W.0004.000000T0000Z-120301T0000Z/
PHILLIPS-SMITH-ROOKS-OSBORNE-MITCHELL-
551 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM CST THIS EVENING...

GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS HAVE BEGUN TO SUBSIDE ACROSS THE WARNED AREA
AND RELATIVE HUMIDITIES ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN TO RECOVER DURING
THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. FOR THESE REASONS...THE RED FLAG WARNING
WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 6 PM CST THIS EVENING.

$$

ROSSI

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hastings, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 28, 6:00 PM CSTSpecial Weather StatementGIDJewell30 min
Feb 28, 9:37 PM CSTWind AdvisoryGIDJewell, Mitchell, Osborne, Phillips, Rooks, Smith18 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Kansas, 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.