Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2015

Red Flag Warning 13, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 17, 201539 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this red flag warning at Oct 17, 2015, 2:17 AM CDT for 39 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Oct 17, 2015, 11:00 AM CDT. 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
Oct 17, 2015, 2:17 AM CDT (07:17 UTC)
In effect from
Oct 17, 2015, 11:00 AM CDT
Expired
Oct 17, 2015, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
All 39 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Marion County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:20 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 23 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2015-10-17Temperature 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2015-10-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -36 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2920 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
43 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.

068 
WWUS84 KBMX 170717
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
217 AM CDT SAT OCT 17 2015

...VERY DRY AND BREEZY CONDITIONS ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...

.A COLD FRONT HAS BROUGHT VERY DRY AIR AND BREEZY CONDITIONS TO
THE AREA. THIS COMBINATION WILL MAKE OUTDOOR BURNING HAZARDOUS
THIS AFTERNOON. 

ALZ011>015-017>050-172300-
/O.UPG.KBMX.FW.A.0009.151017T1700Z-151017T2300Z/
/O.NEW.KBMX.FW.W.0013.151017T1700Z-151017T2300Z/
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-
TALLADEGA-CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-
COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-
MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
217 AM CDT SAT OCT 17 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CDT THIS
EVENING FOR DRY AND BREEZY CONDITIONS FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON
TODAY TO 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO
LONGER IN EFFECT.

* WINDS...NORTH 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 19 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...OF A DRY AIRMASS AND WINDY CONDITIONS COMBINED WILL 
  RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. 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 CAN
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
779 
WWUS84 KBMX 171554
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1054 AM CDT SAT OCT 17 2015

...VERY DRY AND BREEZY CONDITIONS ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...

.A COLD FRONT HAS BROUGHT VERY DRY AIR AND BREEZY CONDITIONS TO
THE AREA. THIS COMBINATION WILL MAKE OUTDOOR BURNING HAZARDOUS
THIS AFTERNOON.

ALZ011>015-017>050-172300-
/O.EXT.KBMX.FW.W.0013.151017T1600Z-151017T2300Z/
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-
TALLADEGA-CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-
COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-
MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
1054 AM CDT SAT OCT 17 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR
DRY AND BREEZY CONDITIONS FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA.  THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON
TODAY TO 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO
LONGER IN EFFECT. 

* WINDS...NORTH 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 17 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...A COMBINATION OF A DRY AIRMASS AND WINDY CONDITIONS WILL
  RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. 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 CAN
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 17, 3:02 PM CDTFrost AdvisoryBMXBlount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah and 8 more17 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Alabama, 2015Every red flag warning in 2015

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.