Alert archive / Montana / Red Flag Warnings in 2012
Red Flag Warning 6, NWS Great Falls, MT
NWS Great Falls, MT issued this red flag warning at Mar 31, 2012, 4:22 AM MDT for 5 counties in Montana. It took effect at Mar 31, 2012, 12:00 PM MDT. It was in force for 3 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 31, 2012, 4:22 AM MDT (10:22 UTC)
- In effect from
- Mar 31, 2012, 12:00 PM MDT
- Expired
- Mar 31, 2012, 2:51 PM MDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Great Falls, MT
Counties Blaine County, MT, Chouteau County, MT, Fergus County, MT, Hill County, MT, Phillips County, MT
The radar
The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 169 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:23 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
Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 118 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2428 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 73 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 48 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 247 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
595 WWUS85 KTFX 311022 RFWTFX URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 422 AM MDT SAT MAR 31 2012 MTZ113-115-312200- /O.NEW.KTFX.FW.W.0006.120331T1800Z-120401T0300Z/ HILL AND BLAINE COUNTIES-CHOUTEAU AND FERGUS COUNTIES- 422 AM MDT SAT MAR 31 2012 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 113 AND 115 FOR ELEVATIONS BELOW 6000 FEET... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR GUSTY WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND A FRONTAL PASSAGE WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING. * AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 113 AND 115...FOR ELEVATIONS BELOW 6000 FEET. * WINDS...SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH...WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 18 PERCENT. * IMPACTS...EXPECT LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES FOR SEVERAL HOURS THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY THIS EVENING...ALONG WITH BREEZY SOUTHWEST WINDS. ADDITIONALLY...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EARLY THIS EVENING AS A COOL FRONT MOVES THROUGH. SOME THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY ERRATIC WIND GUSTS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS OR FIRE CREWS IN THESE AREAS OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING. && $$ HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
1 follow-up statement
575 WWUS85 KTFX 312051 RFWTFX URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 251 PM MDT SAT MAR 31 2012 MTZ113-115-312200- /O.CAN.KTFX.FW.W.0006.000000T0000Z-120401T0300Z/ HILL AND BLAINE COUNTIES-CHOUTEAU AND FERGUS COUNTIES- 251 PM MDT SAT MAR 31 2012 ...RED FLAG WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 113 AND 115... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS CANCELLED THE RED FLAG WARNING. RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL NOT FALL AS LOW AS PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED WITH MINIMUM VALUES THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AROUND 25 TO 30 PERCENT. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL REMAIN BREEZY AT 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH. DUE TO THE SLIGHTLY HIGHER HUMIDITY AND LESSER WINDS...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE NO LONGER EXPECTED. IN ADDITION...SCATTERED SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS CENTRAL MONTANA AND WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA THIS EVENING AND AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM MAY ALSO DEVELOP LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. $$ HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Great Falls, MT issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 9:10 PM MDT | Winter Storm Warning | TFX | 35 hr | |
| Mar 30, 9:16 PM MDT | High Wind Warning | TFX | 6 hr |
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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.