Alert archive / Kansas / Red Flag Warnings in 2012

Red Flag Warning 8, NWS Topeka, KS

March 10, 20126 counties in Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this red flag warning at Mar 10, 2012, 12:48 PM CST for 6 counties in Kansas. It took effect at Mar 10, 2012, 1:00 PM CST. 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: Mar 10, 2012, 12:48 PM CST (18:48 UTC)
In effect from: Mar 10, 2012, 1:00 PM CST
Expired: Mar 10, 2012, 6:00 PM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS

Counties Clay County, KS, Cloud County, KS, Dickinson County, KS, Ottawa County, KS, Republic County, KS, Washington County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:48 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 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 158 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 2162 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 109 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.

593 
WWUS83 KTOP 101848
RFWTOP

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1248 PM CST SAT MAR 10 2012


KSZ008-009-020-021-034-035-110000-
/O.NEW.KTOP.FW.W.0008.120310T1900Z-120311T0000Z/
REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-CLOUD-CLAY-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-
1248 PM CST SAT MAR 10 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR 
LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND GUSTY WINDS FOR NORTH 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
UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING.

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 008 REPUBLIC...FIRE WEATHER 
  ZONE 009 WASHINGTON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 020 CLOUD...FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 021 CLAY...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 034 OTTAWA AND FIRE 
  WEATHER ZONE 035 DICKINSON.

* WINDS...SOUTH 15 TO 24 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

* TIMING...SOUTH WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 MPH
  WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS
  WILL DROP TO NEAR OR BELOW 20 PERCENT THIS AFTERNOON. THE
  CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST UNTIL AROUND 6 PM
  WHEN RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE.

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

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S.

* IMPACTS...DRY FUELS...VERY STRONG WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE
  HUMIDITY LEVELS 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

675 
WWUS83 KTOP 102359
RFWTOP

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
559 PM CST SAT MAR 10 2012

KSZ008-009-020-021-034-035-110100-
/O.EXP.KTOP.FW.W.0008.000000T0000Z-120311T0000Z/
REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-CLOUD-CLAY-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-
559 PM CST SAT MAR 10 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR
LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND GUSTY WINDS FOR NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...

COOLING TEMPERATURES...INCREASING RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...AND
WEAKENING WINDS THIS EVENING WILL DIMINISH THE EXTREME FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS. 

$$

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.