Alert archive / Illinois / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 3, NWS Chicago, IL

March 28, 20125 counties in Indiana; 8 counties in Illinois

NWS Chicago, IL issued this red flag warning at Mar 28, 2012, 11:58 AM EDT for 5 counties in Indiana; 8 counties in Illinois. It took effect at Mar 28, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT. 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: Mar 28, 2012, 11:58 AM EDT (15:58 UTC)
In effect from: Mar 28, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT
Expired: Mar 28, 2012, 7:58 PM EDT
In force: 7 hr
Issued by: NWS Chicago, IL

Counties Ford County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, LaSalle County, IL, Livingston County, IL, Will County, IL, Benton County, IN, Jasper County, IN, Lake County, IN, Newton County, IN, Porter County, IN

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 124 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: 1532 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 75 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.

558 
WWUS83 KLOT 281558
RFWLOT

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1058 AM CDT WED MAR 28 2012

ILZ019>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019-290000-
/O.UPG.KLOT.FW.A.0002.120328T1700Z-120329T0000Z/
/O.NEW.KLOT.FW.W.0003.120328T1700Z-120329T0000Z/
LA SALLE-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-LIVINGSTON-IROQUOIS-FORD-
LAKE IN-PORTER-NEWTON-JASPER-BENTON-
1058 AM CDT WED MAR 28 2012 /1158 AM EDT WED MAR 28 2012/

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/ THIS
EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS...WHICH IS 
IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/ THIS EVENING. 

THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* AFFECTED AREA...PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST
  INDIANA...GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE 80
  CORRIDOR.

* WINDS...NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.

* TIMING...FROM EARLY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 25 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE UPPER 60S.

* IMPACTS...CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR RAPID GROWTH OF WILD
  FIRES.

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.

&&

$$

KREIN

1 follow-up statement

523 
WWUS83 KLOT 282358
RFWLOT

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
658 PM CDT WED MAR 28 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING CANCELLED...

ILZ019>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019-290100-
/O.CAN.KLOT.FW.W.0003.000000T0000Z-120329T0000Z/
LA SALLE-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-LIVINGSTON-IROQUOIS-FORD-
LAKE IN-PORTER-NEWTON-JASPER-BENTON-
658 PM CDT WED MAR 28 2012 /758 PM EDT WED MAR 28 2012/

...RED FLAG WARNING IS CANCELLED...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS CANCELLED THE RED
FLAG WARNING FOR EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.
COOLING TEMPERATURES AND DIMINISHING WINDS HAVE ALLEVIATED RED
FLAG CONDITIONS EARLY THIS EVENING.

$$

RATZER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 28, 5:58 AM EDT	Fire Weather Watch	LOT	Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter	6 hr
Mar 27, 11:04 PM EDT	Small Craft Advisory	LOT		21 hr
Mar 28, 12:22 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	LOT	Livingston	23 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Illinois, 2012 Red Flag Warnings in Indiana, 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.