Alert archive / Kansas / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 16, NWS Topeka, KS

December 12, 201223 counties in Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this red flag warning at Dec 12, 2012, 1:26 PM CST for 23 counties in Kansas. 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
Dec 12, 2012, 1:26 PM CST (19:26 UTC)
Expired
Dec 12, 2012, 6:00 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
All 23 counties

Anderson County, KS, Brown County, KS, Clay County, KS, Cloud County, KS, Coffey County, KS, Dickinson County, KS, Douglas County, KS, Franklin County, KS, Geary County, KS, Jackson County, KS, Jefferson County, KS, Lyon County, KS, Marshall County, KS, Morris County, KS, Nemaha County, KS, Osage County, KS, Ottawa County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS, Republic County, KS, Riley County, KS, Shawnee County, KS, Wabaunsee County, KS, Washington County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 16 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:29 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

Topeka, KS (KFOE), launched 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 61 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2012-12-12Temperature 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2012-12-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 7 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
2282 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 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.

712 
WWUS83 KTOP 121926
RFWTOP

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
126 PM CST WED DEC 12 2012


KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-130000-
/O.NEW.KTOP.FW.W.0016.121212T1926Z-121213T0000Z/
REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY-
POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS-
WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
126 PM CST WED DEC 12 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR 
GUSTY WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND DRY FUELS FOR ALL OF NORTH CENTRAL
NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL KANSAS...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR DRY FUELS...GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING.

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 008 REPUBLIC...FIRE WEATHER 
  ZONE 009 WASHINGTON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 010 MARSHALL...FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 011 NEMAHA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 012 BROWN...FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 020 CLOUD...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 021 CLAY...FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 022 RILEY...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 023 POTTAWATOMIE... 
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 024 JACKSON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 026 
  JEFFERSON... FIRE WEATHER ZONE 034 OTTAWA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 
  035 DICKINSON... FIRE WEATHER ZONE 036 GEARY...FIRE WEATHER 
  ZONE 037 MORRIS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 038 WABAUNSEE...FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 039 SHAWNEE...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 040 DOUGLAS...
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 054 LYON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 055 OSAGE...
  FIRE WEATHER ZONE 056 FRANKLIN...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 058 COFFEY 
  AND FIRE WEATHER ZONE 059 ANDERSON.

* WINDS...SOUTH 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

* TIMING...UNTIL 6 PM TODAY.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 18 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE LOW TO MID 50S.

* IMPACTS...FIRES WILL START EASILY AND SPREAD QUICKLY IN THE
  WARNING AREA...MAKING THEM VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF DRY
FUELS...STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM
TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
810 
WWUS83 KTOP 122340 AAA
RFWTOP

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
540 PM CST WED DEC 12 2012


KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-130045-
/O.EXP.KTOP.FW.W.0016.000000T0000Z-121213T0000Z/
REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY-
POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS-
WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
540 PM CST WED DEC 12 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM CST THIS EVENING...

AS TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING CONTINUE TO COOL...
RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL STEADILY INCREASE. AT THE SAME
TIME...WIND SPEEDS WILL ONLY BE IN THE 10 TO 15 MPH RANGE.
THEREFORE THE RED FLAG WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 6
PM.

$$

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Kansas, 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.