Alert archive / New Mexico / Red Flag Warnings in 2014

Red Flag Warning 13, NWS El Paso, TX

April 13, 20148 counties in New Mexico; El Paso County, Hudspeth County, Texas

NWS El Paso, TX issued this red flag warning at Apr 13, 2014, 4:40 AM MDT for 8 counties in New Mexico; El Paso County, Hudspeth County, Texas. It took effect at Apr 13, 2014, 1:00 PM MDT. It was in force for 7 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
Apr 13, 2014, 4:40 AM MDT (10:40 UTC)
In effect from
Apr 13, 2014, 1:00 PM MDT
Expired
Apr 13, 2014, 8:00 PM MDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
NWS El Paso, TX

Counties Catron County, NM, Doña Ana County, NM, Grant County, NM, Hidalgo County, NM, Lincoln County, NM, Luna County, NM, Otero County, NM, Sierra County, NM, El Paso County, TX, Hudspeth County, TX

The radar

The El Paso radar (KEPZ), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:43 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

Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), launched 00:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 84 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 00:00Z on 2014-04-13Temperature 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 00:00Z on 2014-04-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 39 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
3525 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 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.

754 
WWUS84 KEPZ 131040
RFWEPZ

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
440 AM MDT SUN APR 13 2014

...WITH HIGH FIRE DANGER IN PLACE...CONDITIONS REMAIN CRITICALLY DRY
WITH STRONG WINDS RETURNING TODAY ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR
WEST TEXAS TO PRODUCE A CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER WINDOW...

.EXTREMELY DRY CONDITIONS...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES...AND STRONG
WINDS WILL RETURN AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL RUN
ABOUT 5-7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AS MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES
DROP INTO THE LOWER AND MIDDLE TEENS ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS.
ANOTHER APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BRING WINDY CONDITIONS
THIS AFTERNOON AS WESTERLY WINDS INCREASE INTO THE 20 TO 30 MPH RANGE.
THE PATTERN IS NOT QUITE A CLASSIC CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER PATTERN
BUT LONG-TERM DROUGHT...DRY AND ABUNDANT FUELS...AND RECENT
WILDFIRE ACTIVITY COMBINED WITH THE DRY...WARM...AND WINDY
CONDITIONS SUGGEST THAT LARGE FIRE GROWTH IS LIKELY WITH ANY NEW
IGNITIONS. 

NMZ111-112-TXZ055-056-140200-
/O.NEW.KEPZ.FW.W.0013.140413T1900Z-140414T0200Z/
SOUTHWEST DESERTS AND LOWLANDS-
SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS AND SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE VALLEY-EL PASO-
HUDSPETH-
440 AM MDT SUN APR 13 2014

...RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM
MDT THIS EVENING FOR STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR ALL LOWLAND
FIRE WEATHER ZONES ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO
AND FAR WEST TEXAS. THIS INCLUDES FIRE WEATHER ZONES 055...056...
111 AND 112..

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA HAS
ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS
AFTERNOON TO 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING. 

* EVENT: CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS
  THE LOWLANDS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO AND
  FAR WEST TEXAS DUE TO WARM TEMPERATURES...A VERY DRY AIRMASS...
  AND WINDY CONDITIONS.

* WIND: WEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH AT THE 20-FOOT LEVEL WITH
  OCCASIONAL GUST TO NEAR 40 MPH.

* HUMIDITY: MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY BETWEEN 10 TO 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...ANY ON-GOING FIRES OR NEW FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL
  LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY AND BE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. OUTDOOR
  BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

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
CREATE EXTREME FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

$$

NMZ110-113-140200-
/O.NEW.KEPZ.FW.W.0013.140413T1900Z-140414T0200Z/
SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS-CAPITAN AND SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS-
440 AM MDT SUN APR 13 2014

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM
MDT THIS EVENING FOR STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 110 AND 113 BELOW 6500 FT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA HAS
ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS
AFTERNOON TO 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING. 

* EVENT: CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS
  THE THE GILA REGION AND THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS BELOW 6500FT
  DUE TO WARM TEMPERATURES...A VERY DRY AIRMASS...AND WINDY
  CONDITIONS.

* WIND: WEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH AT THE 20-FOOT LEVEL WITH
  OCCASIONAL GUST TO NEAR 40 MPH.

* HUMIDITY: MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY BETWEEN 10 TO 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...ANY ON-GOING FIRES OR NEW FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL
  LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY AND BE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. OUTDOOR
  BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

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
CREATE EXTREME FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

$$

BIRD

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in New Mexico, 2014Red Flag Warnings in Texas, 2014Every red flag warning in 2014

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.