Alert archive / Kansas / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 5, NWS Topeka, KS

February 29, 20126 counties in Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this red flag warning at Feb 29, 2012, 4:10 AM CST for 6 counties in Kansas. It took effect at Feb 29, 2012, 12:00 PM CST. It was in force for 6 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 29, 2012, 4:10 AM CST (10:10 UTC)
In effect from: Feb 29, 2012, 12:00 PM CST
Expired: Feb 29, 2012, 6:00 PM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS

Counties Anderson County, KS, Coffey County, KS, Dickinson County, KS, Lyon County, KS, Morris County, KS, Ottawa County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:10 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 (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 82 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: 37 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 482 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 72 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 427 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 451 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

206 
WWUS83 KTOP 291010
RFWTOP

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
410 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING FOR PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL
KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON...


KSZ034-035-037-054-058-059-010000-
/O.NEW.KTOP.FW.W.0005.120229T1800Z-120301T0000Z/
OTTAWA-DICKINSON-MORRIS-LYON-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
410 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS
EVENING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND GUSTY WINDS FOR PARTS OF
NORTH CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL KANSAS...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND GUSTY WINDS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING.

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 034 OTTAWA...FIRE WEATHER 
  ZONE 035 DICKINSON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 037 MORRIS...FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 054 LYON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 058 COFFEY AND FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 059 ANDERSON.

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

* TIMING...GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE LATE AFTERNOON
  HOURS. RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL DECREASE AS TEMPERATURES RISE BY
  EARLY AFTERNOON. THE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
  EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH 6 PM.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 20 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE LOWER 60S.

* IMPACTS...DRY FUELS...STRONG WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY 
  VALUES THIS AFTERNOON WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER 
  CONDITIONS. 

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

628 
WWUS83 KTOP 292352
RFWTOP

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
552 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012


KSZ034-035-037-054-058-059-010100-
/O.EXP.KTOP.FW.W.0005.000000T0000Z-120301T0000Z/
OTTAWA-DICKINSON-MORRIS-LYON-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
552 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012

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

TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO COOL THIS EVENING WITH RELATIVE
HUMIDITY LEVELS RISING. WINDS SPEEDS WILL ALSO DECREASE AS WELL
THROUGH SUNSET. THEREFORE...THE RED FLAG WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED
TO EXPIRE AT 6 PM.

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 28, 6:04 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TOP	Republic	20 min
Feb 28, 6:50 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Ottawa	25 min
Feb 28, 7:16 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Clay, Cloud, Washington	44 min
Feb 28, 7:41 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Republic	34 min
Feb 28, 7:57 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TOP	Morris	33 min
Feb 28, 8:11 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Marshall	34 min
Feb 28, 8:17 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Washington	28 min
Feb 28, 8:28 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Lyon, Morris, Wabaunsee	47 min
Feb 28, 8:48 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Marshall	27 min
Feb 28, 9:03 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Osage, Shawnee	42 min
Feb 28, 9:21 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Douglas, Jefferson	39 min
Feb 28, 9:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Douglas, Franklin, Osage, Shawnee	36 min
Feb 28, 9:58 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Anderson, Coffey, Franklin	47 min
Feb 28, 10:10 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TOP	Douglas	14 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Kansas, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.