Alert archive / Colorado / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Pueblo, CO

February 22, 2012Baca County, Huerfano County, Las Animas County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this red flag warning at Feb 22, 2012, 4:02 AM MST for Baca County, Huerfano County, Las Animas County, Colorado. It took effect at Feb 22, 2012, 12:00 PM MST. 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
Feb 22, 2012, 4:02 AM MST (11:02 UTC)
In effect from
Feb 22, 2012, 12:00 PM MST
Expired
Feb 22, 2012, 5:00 PM MST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Pueblo, CO

Counties Baca County, CO, Huerfano County, CO, Las Animas County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 117 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:02 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 00:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 276 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 00:00Z 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 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 2012-02-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 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
2485 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
148 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.

837 
WWUS85 KPUB 221102
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
402 AM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AND GUSTY
WINDS HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TODAY BETWEEN 1200 AND 1700 LOCAL TIME
FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 229...230...233 AND 237...WHICH INCLUDES 
HUERFANO COUNTY...LAS ANIMAS COUNTY AND BACA COUNTY...

COZ227-228-231-232-234>236-221215-
/O.CAN.KPUB.FW.A.0001.120222T1900Z-120223T0000Z/
SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY-PUEBLO COUNTY-CROWLEY COUNTY-OTERO COUNTY-
KIOWA COUNTY-BENT COUNTY-PROWERS COUNTY-
402 AM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 227...228...231...232... 234...235
AND 236.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS CANCELLED THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH. 

GUSTY WINDS AND WARM TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTHEAST
COLORADO TODAY...HOWEVER RELATIVE HUMIDITES ARE EXPECTED TO STAY
BETWEEN 15 AND 20 PERCENT. 

$$

COZ229-230-233-237-230000-
/O.UPG.KPUB.FW.A.0001.120222T1900Z-120223T0000Z/
/O.NEW.KPUB.FW.W.0001.120222T1900Z-120223T0000Z/
HUERFANO COUNTY-WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-
EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-BACA COUNTY-
402 AM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 5 PM MST THIS
AFTERNOON FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 229...230...233 AND 237...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...WHICH IS IN
EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON. THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 229...230...233 AND 237.

* WINDS...WEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...BETWEEN 10 AND 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR RAPID RATES OF FIRE GROWTH
  AND SPREAD...IF A FIRE SHOULD START. 

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.

&&

$$
2 follow-up statements
857 
WWUS85 KPUB 222217
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
317 PM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AND GUSTY
WINDS HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TODAY BETWEEN 1200 AND 1700 LOCAL TIME
FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 229...230...233 AND 237...WHICH INCLUDES
HUERFANO COUNTY...LAS ANIMAS COUNTY AND BACA COUNTY...

COZ229-230-233-237-230000-
/O.CON.KPUB.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-120223T0000Z/
HUERFANO COUNTY-WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-
EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-BACA COUNTY-
317 PM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS
AFTERNOON FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 229...230...233 AND 237...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS
AFTERNOON. 

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 229...230...233 AND 237.

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

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...10 TO 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR RAPID RATES OF FIRE GROWTH 
  AND SPREAD...IF A FIRE SHOULD START. 

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.

&&

$$
631 
WWUS85 KPUB 222358
RFWPUB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
458 PM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR HUERFANO...LAS ANIMAS AND BACA
COUNTIES WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON...

COZ229-230-233-237-230100-
/O.EXP.KPUB.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-120223T0000Z/
HUERFANO COUNTY-WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-
EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-BACA COUNTY-
458 PM MST WED FEB 22 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR 
FIRE WEATHER ZONES 229...230...233 AND 237...

THE RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON.

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pueblo, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 21, 8:09 PM MSTFire Weather WatchPUBBaca, Bent, Crowley, El Paso, Huerfano, Kiowa and 4 more8 hr
Feb 21, 10:57 PM MSTHigh Wind WarningPUBAlamosa, Chaffee, Costilla, Custer, El Paso, Fremont and 6 more30 hr

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.