Alert archive / Montana / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Great Falls, MT

January 4, 20126 counties in Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this red flag warning at Jan 4, 2012, 7:37 PM MST for 6 counties in Montana. It was in force for 19 hr. 11 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jan 4, 2012, 7:37 PM MST (02:37 UTC)
Expired
Jan 5, 2012, 2:17 PM MST
In force
19 hr
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT

Counties Glacier County, MT, Lewis and Clark County, MT, Liberty County, MT, Pondera County, MT, Teton County, MT, Toole County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 97 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:42 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 5, 12:38 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 606 Nnw Sunburst, MT
Jan 5, 12:56 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 602 Sw Cut Bank, MTREPORTED AT CUT BANK MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
Jan 5, 2:00 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 818 Se East Glacier Park, MT81 MPH WIND GUST THIS MORNING AT THE DEEP CREEK RAWS LOCATION.
Jan 5, 2:37 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 602 Nw Pendroy, MT60 MPH WIND GUST AT THE DOT SENSOR JUST NORTHWEST OF PENDROY THIS MORNING.
Jan 5, 2:37 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 606 Nnw Sunburst, MT60 MPH WIND GUST EARLY THIS MORNING AT THE DOT SENSOR JUST SOUTH OF SWEET GRASS.
Jan 5, 3:30 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 661 Sw Kevin, MT66 MPH WIND GUST AT THE SCOTT BYE FARM
Jan 5, 4:13 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 592 Nw Pendroy, MT
Jan 5, 6:30 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 585 E Pendroy, MT
Jan 5, 6:30 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 585 Ese Pendroy, MT
Jan 5, 11:54 AM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 6114 Nnw Joplin, MTPEAK GUST OF 61 MPH SINCE MIDNIGHT.
Jan 5, 12:00 PM MSTNON-TSTM WND GST 556 Se Dutton, MT55 MPH WIND GUST A DAHLMAN MSCN SITE.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 138 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 2012-01-05Temperature 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 2012-01-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 197 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
2722 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
197 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
229 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.

696 
WWUS85 KTFX 050237
RFWTFX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
737 PM MST WED JAN 4 2012

...STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY WITH VERY LOW
HUMIDITIES RECOVERING SOMEWHAT LATER TONIGHT...

MTZ112-114-050700-
/O.NEW.KTFX.FW.W.0001.120105T0237Z-120105T0700Z/
EASTERN GLACIER/TOOLE/CENTRAL AND EASTERN PONDERA/LIBERTY
COUNTIES-
LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL FOREST ROCKY MOUNTAIN DISTRICT/ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT-
737 PM MST WED JAN 4 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT FOR
GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR THE GRASSLANDS OF FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 112 AND 114...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...WHICH IS IN
EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT. 

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 112 AND 114.

* WINDS...SOUTHWEST 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 25 PERCENT THROUGH THE REMAINDER
  OF THIS EVENING. TEMPERATURES WILL COOL SLIGHTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT
  WITH HUMIDITIES RECOVERING TO ABOVE 30 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE
  DANGEROUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH THE REMINDER OF THIS
  EVENING. 
 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS OR FIRE CREWS IN THESE
AREAS OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

&&

$$

HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
2 follow-up statements
638 
WWUS85 KTFX 050641
RFWTFX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1141 PM MST WED JAN 4 2012

...STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY WITH VERY LOW
HUMIDITIES RECOVERING SOMEWHAT LATER TONIGHT...

MTZ112-114-060000-
/O.EXT.KTFX.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-120106T0000Z/
EASTERN GLACIER/TOOLE/CENTRAL AND EASTERN PONDERA/LIBERTY
COUNTIES-
LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL FOREST ROCKY MOUNTAIN DISTRICT/ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT-
1141 PM MST WED JAN 4 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST THURSDAY FOR 
GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR THE GRASSLANDS OF FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 112 AND 114...

THE RED FLAG WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST THURSDAY. 

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 112 AND 114.

* WINDS...WEST 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 65 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 25 SLOWLY RECOVERING OVERNIGHT TO
  35 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE
  DANGEROUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT. RH VALUES WILL SLOWLY
  RECOVER...HOWEVER WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG OVERNIGHT AND WILL
  CONTINUE TO LIMIT RH VALUES THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON THURSDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS OR FIRE CREWS IN THESE
AREAS OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

&&

$$

HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
638 
WWUS85 KTFX 052117
RFWTFX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
217 PM MST THU JAN 5 2012

MTZ112-114-052230-
/O.CAN.KTFX.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-120106T0000Z/
EASTERN GLACIER/TOOLE/CENTRAL AND EASTERN PONDERA/LIBERTY
COUNTIES-
LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL FOREST ROCKY MOUNTAIN DISTRICT/ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT-
217 PM MST THU JAN 5 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 112 AND
114...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS CANCELLED THE RED
FLAG WARNING. 

RELATIVE HUMIDITY HAS RISEN ABOVE 30 PERCENT ACROSS
GLACIER...TOOLE...PONDERA AND TETON COUNTIES AND WILL CONTINUE TO
GRADUALLY RISE AS TEMPERATURES COOL THROUGH TONIGHT. THEREFORE THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELLED THE RED FLAG WARNING.

$$

HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Montana, 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.