Alert archive / North Dakota / Red Flag Warnings in 2013

Red Flag Warning 2, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 14, 201317 counties in North Dakota; 17 counties in Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this red flag warning at May 14, 2013, 4:59 AM CDT for 17 counties in North Dakota; 17 counties in Minnesota. It took effect at May 14, 2013, 12:00 PM CDT. It was in force for 9 hr. 3 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
May 14, 2013, 4:59 AM CDT (09:59 UTC)
In effect from
May 14, 2013, 12:00 PM CDT
Expired
May 14, 2013, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
9 hr
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
All 34 counties

Becker County, MN, Beltrami County, MN, Clay County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Grant County, MN, Hubbard County, MN, Kittson County, MN, Mahnomen County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Norman County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Roseau County, MN, Wadena County, MN, Wilkin County, MN, Barnes County, ND, Benson County, ND, Cass County, ND, Cavalier County, ND, Eddy County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Griggs County, ND, Nelson County, ND, Pembina County, ND, Ramsey County, ND, Ransom County, ND, Richland County, ND, Sargent County, ND, Steele County, ND, Towner County, ND, Traill County, ND, Walsh County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:02 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
May 14, 1:55 PM CDTHIGH SUST WINDS 482 Ssw Langdon, NDSUSTAINED WINDS OF 40 TO 48 MPH OCCURRED FROM 155 PM THROUGH 415 PM CDT. PEAK WINDS REACHED 58 MPH.
May 14, 2:55 PM CDTHIGH SUST WINDS 40Cavalier, NDSUSTAINED WINDS OF FROM 35 TO 40 MPH OCCURRED UNTIL 5 PM CDT... WITH A PEAK WIND OF 52 MPH RECORDED AT 255 PM CDT.
May 14, 3:43 PM CDTNON-TSTM WND GST 5915 Nw Rocklake, NDPEAK WINDS TO 59 MPH ACCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHERN TOWNER COUNTY FROM JUST EAST OF ROLLA THROUGH ROCKLAKE. PEAK WINDS TO 51 KTS WERE MEASURED AT THE ROLLA AIRPORT AROUND 338 PM CDT.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 295 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 2013-05-14Temperature 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 2013-05-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 93 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
3564 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
93 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
161 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.

434 
WWUS83 KFGF 140959
RFWFGF

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
459 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON...

.A FAST MOVING SURFACE TROUGH WILL MOVE THROUGH EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA THIS MORNING AND INTO NORTHWESTERN AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM
AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR. RAIN
AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT...MOSTLY UNDER ONE QUARTER INCH. BUT THE
RAINFALL WILL PLAY HAVOC WITH HUMIDITY VALUES AS THEY MAY VARY
GREATLY OVER THE REGION.   

HOWEVER...BEHIND THE FRONT WINDS WILL TURN WESTERLY AND SKIES ARE
EXPECTED TO CLEAR OUT ALLOWING SUNSHINE THIS AFTERNOON. HIGH
TEMPERATURES WILL PEAK OUT IN THE LOWER 70S IN THE DEVILS LAKE
BASIN TO THE MID 80S IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA. DRY WESTERLY WINDS WILL ALSO SPREAD INTO THE AREA WITH
AFTERNOON WIND SPEEDS IN THE 25 TO 40 MPH RANGE WITH GUSTS CLOSE
TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. THESE WINDS WILL HELP
DRY OUT WHATEVER RAINFALL OCCURS THIS MORNING. WHILE HUMIDITY
VALUES WILL BE A BIT HIGHER THAN ON MONDAY...THEY STILL WILL DROP
INTO THE 25 TO 35 PERCENT RANGE ACROSS THE REGION AND WITH DRY
FUELS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN CRITICAL. 

CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE GREATLY TOWARD SUNSET AND OVERNIGHT AS
HUMIDITY VALUES RECOVER INTO THE 75 TO 95 PERCENT RANGE BY
WEDNESDAY MORNING AND WINDS DIMINISH. 


MNZ001>004-007-008-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-
024-026>030-038-039-049-052>054-141800-
/O.UPG.KFGF.FW.A.0001.130514T1700Z-130515T0300Z/
/O.NEW.KFGF.FW.W.0002.130514T1700Z-130515T0200Z/
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-
PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-
MAHNOMEN-SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN-
WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH-EDDY-NELSON-GRAND FORKS-
GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-RICHLAND-
WESTERN WALSH-
459 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CDT THIS
EVENING FOR LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH
IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* AFFECTED AREA...IN MINNESOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 001...002... 
  003...004...007...008...013...014...015...016...017...022...
  023... 024...027...028...029...030...031...032 AND 040. IN 
  NORTH DAKOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 006...007...008...014...
  015...016... 024...026...027...028...029...030...038...039...
  049...052... 053 AND 054.

* WINDS...IN NORTH DAKOTA...AFTERNOON WEST 25 TO 40 MPH WITH
  GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH. IN MINNESOTA...AFTERNOON WEST WINDS 25 TO 35
  MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH.

* TIMING...TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 25 TO 30 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...75 TO 85.

* IMPACTS...EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR SHOULD FIRE INITIATE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$

MNZ005-141800-
/O.NEW.KFGF.FW.W.0002.130514T1700Z-130515T0200Z/
ROSEAU-
459 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CDT THIS
EVENING FOR LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

* AFFECTED AREA...IN MINNESOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 005.

* WINDS...WEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

* TIMING...TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 35 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...AFTERNOON HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S.

* IMPACTS...EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR SHOULD FIRE INITIATE. DESPITE
  SOME MORNING RAINFALL STRONG WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED BEHIND A
  TROUGH WHICH WILL MOVE THROUGH THE ROSEAU AREA JUST PRIOR TO
  NOON. THIS AFTERNOON WILL SEE SUNSHINE AND DRYING WEST WINDS
  WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY IN THE WESTERN PART
  OF THE COUNTY. WITH DRY FUELS AND THE WEST WINDS...FIRE WEATHER
  CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN CRITICAL. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$

DTR
3 follow-up statements
178 
WWUS83 KFGF 141513
RFWFGF

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
1013 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON...

.A FAST MOVING SURFACE TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO NORTHWESTERN AND
WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. 

BEHIND THE FRONT WINDS WILL TURN WESTERLY AND SKIES ARE EXPECTED
TO CLEAR OUT ALLOWING SUNSHINE THIS AFTERNOON. HIGH TEMPERATURES
WILL PEAK OUT IN THE LOWER 70S IN THE DEVILS LAKE BASIN TO THE MID
80S IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. DRY WESTERLY
WINDS WILL ALSO SPREAD INTO THE AREA WITH AFTERNOON WIND SPEEDS IN
THE 25 TO 40 MPH RANGE WITH GUSTS CLOSE TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE IN
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.  WHILE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL BE A BIT HIGHER
THAN ON MONDAY...THEY STILL WILL DROP INTO THE 25 TO 35 PERCENT
RANGE ACROSS THE REGION WITH THE LOWEST VALUES EXPECTED OVER
SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...DROPPING TO NEAR 15 PERCENT THERE. WITH
DRY FUELS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN CRITICAL.

CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE GREATLY TOWARD SUNSET AND OVERNIGHT AS
HUMIDITY VALUES RECOVER INTO THE 75 TO 95 PERCENT RANGE BY
WEDNESDAY MORNING AND WINDS DIMINISH.

MNZ001>005-007-008-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-
024-026>030-038-039-049-052>054-142315-
/O.CON.KFGF.FW.W.0002.130514T1700Z-130515T0200Z/
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-
PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-
MAHNOMEN-SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN-
WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH-EDDY-NELSON-GRAND FORKS-
GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-RICHLAND-
WESTERN WALSH-
1013 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING
FOR LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA...

* AFFECTED AREA...IN MINNESOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 001...002... 
  003...004...005...007...008...013...014...015...016...017...
  022... 023...024...027...028...029...030...031...032 AND 040. 
  IN NORTH DAKOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 006...007...008...014...
  015...016... 024...026...027...028...029...030...038...039...
  049...052... 053 AND 054.

* WINDS...WEST 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.

* TIMING...TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 15 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE MID 70S.

* IMPACTS...EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR SHOULD FIRE INITIATE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$
WJB
455 
WWUS83 KFGF 142025
RFWFGF

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
325 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH EARLY EVENING...

.STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS HAVE INVADED THE DEVILS LAKE BASIN
AND RED RIVER VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL PERSIST INTO THE
EARLY EVENING. SUSTAINED WINDS BETWEEN 30 AND 40 MPH WILL BE
COMMON TO THESE AREAS...WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH. 

HUMIDITY LEVELS HAVE DROPPED TO NEAR 20 PERCENT OVER SOUTHEAST
NORTH DAKOTA AND ADJACENT MINNESOTA...AND MAY DROP A BIT MORE OVER
THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. 

CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE GREATLY TOWARD SUNSET AND OVERNIGHT AS
WINDS DIMINISH CONCURRENT WITH HUMIDITY RECOVERY. CRITICAL FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. 

MNZ001>005-007-008-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-
024-026>030-038-039-049-052>054-150200-
/O.CON.KFGF.FW.W.0002.000000T0000Z-130515T0200Z/
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-
PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-
MAHNOMEN-SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN-
WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH-EDDY-NELSON-GRAND FORKS-
GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-RICHLAND-
WESTERN WALSH-
325 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING
FOR LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...

* AFFECTED AREA...IN MINNESOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 001...002... 
  003...004...005...007...008...013...014...015...016...017...
  022... 023...024...027...028...029...030...031...032 AND 040. 
  IN NORTH DAKOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 006...007...008...014...
  015...016... 024...026...027...028...029...030...038...039...
  049...052... 053 AND 054.

* WINDS...WEST 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.

* TIMING...TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 10 TO 15 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...75-80.

* IMPACTS...EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR SHOULD FIRE INITIATE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$
WJB
111 
WWUS83 KFGF 150159
RFWFGF

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
859 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EASING...

.FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EASING AS WINDS DECREASE AND RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES INCREASE. WIND GUSTS ARE GENERALLY IN THE 15 MPH TO 25
MPH RANGE AND WILL CONTINUE TO DECREASE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
LIKEWISE...WITH COOLER AIR PUSHING OVER THE AREA...HUMIDITIES ARE
IN THE 35 TO 40 PERCENT RANGE AT THIS TIME AND WILL CONTINUE TO
INCREASE DURING THE EVENING.

MNZ001>005-007-008-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-
024-026>030-038-039-049-052>054-150300-
/O.EXP.KFGF.FW.W.0002.000000T0000Z-130515T0200Z/
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-
PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-
MAHNOMEN-SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN-
WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH-EDDY-NELSON-GRAND FORKS-
GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-RICHLAND-
WESTERN WALSH-
859 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR LOW
HUMIDITIES AND STRONG WINDS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...

FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EASING AS WINDS DECREASE AND RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES INCREASE. WIND GUSTS ARE GENERALLY IN THE 15 MPH TO 25
MPH RANGE AND WILL CONTINUE TO DECREASE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
LIKEWISE...WITH COOLER AIR PUSHING OVER THE AREA...HUMIDITIES ARE
IN THE 35 TO 40 PERCENT RANGE AT THIS TIME AND WILL CONTINUE TO
INCREASE DURING THE EVENING. THEREFORE...THE RED FLAG WARNING WILL
BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

$$

HOPKINS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 14, 4:15 AM CDTWind AdvisoryFGFBarnes, Benson, Cass, Cavalier, Eddy, Grand Forks and 11 more17 hr
May 14, 6:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes, Cass42 min
May 14, 2:52 PM CDTHigh Wind WarningFGFCavalier, Pembina, Towner6 hr
May 14, 7:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Clay, Mahnomen29 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in North Dakota, 2013Red Flag Warnings in Minnesota, 2013Every red flag warning in 2013

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.