Alert archive / Illinois / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Lincoln, IL

March 6, 20129 counties in Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this red flag warning at Mar 6, 2012, 12:43 PM CST for 9 counties in Illinois. 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
Mar 6, 2012, 12:43 PM CST (18:43 UTC)
Expired
Mar 6, 2012, 6:00 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL

Counties Cass County, IL, Fulton County, IL, Knox County, IL, Mason County, IL, Menard County, IL, Morgan County, IL, Sangamon County, IL, Schuyler County, IL, Scott County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:48 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 132 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2012-03-06Temperature 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2012-03-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 759 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
1856 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
759 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
862 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.

140 
WWUS83 KILX 061843
RFWILX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1243 PM CST TUE MAR 6 2012

...WINDY AND DRY CONDITIONS RESULTING IN HEIGHTENED FIRE DANGER
THIS AFTERNOON...

ILZ027-036-040-041-047>051-070000-
/O.NEW.KILX.FW.W.0001.120306T1843Z-120307T0000Z/
KNOX-FULTON-SCHUYLER-MASON-CASS-MENARD-SCOTT-MORGAN-SANGAMON-
1243 PM CST TUE MAR 6 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR
AREAS WEST OF A GALESBURG TO SPRINGFIELD LINE...

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

* AFFECTED AREA...THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...CASS...FULTON...
  KNOX...MASON...MENARD...MORGAN...SANGAMON...SCHUYLER...AND
  SCOTT. 

* WINDS...SOUTH 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH.

* TIMING...THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AFTERNOON HUMIDITY WILL FALL TO AROUND 20 TO
  25 PERCENT. 

* TEMPERATURES...HIGHS IN THE LOWER 70S.

* IMPACTS...BURNING ACTIVITIES CAN QUICKLY GET OUT OF CONTROL IN
  THESE CONDITIONS. ANY WILDFIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL SPREAD QUICKLY.

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. PLANNED OUTDOOR BURNING
SHOULD BE SUSPENDED UNTIL WINDS DECREASE.

&&

$$
GEELHART

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 6, 3:55 AM CSTWind AdvisoryILXCass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas and 21 more14 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Illinois, 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.