Alert archive / Massachusetts / Red Flag Warnings in 2015

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

April 15, 201512 counties in Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this red flag warning at Apr 15, 2015, 4:24 AM EDT for 12 counties in Massachusetts. It took effect at Apr 15, 2015, 11:00 AM EDT. It was in force for 8 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 15, 2015, 4:24 AM EDT (08:24 UTC)
In effect from: Apr 15, 2015, 11:00 AM EDT
Expired: Apr 15, 2015, 7:00 PM EDT
In force: 8 hr
Issued by: NWS Boston/Norton, MA

Counties Barnstable County, MA, Bristol County, MA, Dukes County, MA, Essex County, MA, Franklin County, MA, Hampden County, MA, Hampshire County, MA, Middlesex County, MA, Norfolk County, MA, Plymouth County, MA, Suffolk County, MA, Worcester County, MA

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 33 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:26 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

Chatham, MA (KCHH), launched 00:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 132 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: 2144 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 122 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.

469 
WWUS81 KBOX 150824
RFWBOX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
424 AM EDT WED APR 15 2015

MAZ002>023-026-151630-
/O.NEW.KBOX.FW.W.0001.150415T1500Z-150415T2300Z/
WESTERN FRANKLIN MA-EASTERN FRANKLIN MA-NORTHERN WORCESTER MA-
CENTRAL MIDDLESEX MA-WESTERN ESSEX MA-EASTERN ESSEX MA-
WESTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-WESTERN HAMPDEN MA-EASTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-
EASTERN HAMPDEN MA-SOUTHERN WORCESTER MA-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-
SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA-SUFFOLK MA-EASTERN NORFOLK MA-
NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-
SOUTHERN BRISTOL MA-SOUTHERN PLYMOUTH MA-BARNSTABLE MA-DUKES MA-
NORTHERN MIDDLESEX MA-
424 AM EDT WED APR 15 2015

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR ALL OF MASSACHUSETTS EXCEPT NANTUCKET...WHICH IS IN
EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING...FOR
ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER POTENTIAL /RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AT OR BELOW
30 PERCENT AND WIND GUSTS OF 25 MPH OR GREATER/...

* AFFECTED AREA...INCLUDES ALL OF MASSACHUSETTS EXCEPT NANTUCKET.

* WINDS...NORTH 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO AROUND 25 MPH.

* TIMING...MID-MORNING THROUGH EARLY EVENING. 

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

* TEMPERATURES...REACHING HIGHS AROUND THE MID- TO UPPER-60S. 

* IMPACTS...DRY WEATHER AND GUSTY WINDS WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL 
  FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. ANY FIRES THAT START
MAY SPREAD RAPIDLY AND BECOME DIFFICULT TO EXTINGUISH.

&&

$$

FOR THE LATEST UPDATES...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BOSTON

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AT
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSBOSTON

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AT
@NWSBOSTON

1 follow-up statement

991 
WWUS81 KBOX 152016
RFWBOX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
416 PM EDT WED APR 15 2015

MAZ002>023-026-152300-
/O.CON.KBOX.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-150415T2300Z/
WESTERN FRANKLIN MA-EASTERN FRANKLIN MA-NORTHERN WORCESTER MA-
CENTRAL MIDDLESEX MA-WESTERN ESSEX MA-EASTERN ESSEX MA-
WESTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-WESTERN HAMPDEN MA-EASTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-
EASTERN HAMPDEN MA-SOUTHERN WORCESTER MA-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-
SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA-SUFFOLK MA-EASTERN NORFOLK MA-
NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-
SOUTHERN BRISTOL MA-SOUTHERN PLYMOUTH MA-BARNSTABLE MA-DUKES MA-
NORTHERN MIDDLESEX MA-
416 PM EDT WED APR 15 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING
FOR ALL OF MASSACHUSETTS EXCEPT NANTUCKET...FOR ELEVATED FIRE
WEATHER POTENTIAL /RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AT OR BELOW 30 PERCENT AND
WIND GUSTS OF 25 MPH OR GREATER/...

* AFFECTED AREA...INCLUDES ALL OF MASSACHUSETTS EXCEPT NANTUCKET.

* WINDS...NORTH 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.

* TIMING...THROUGH 7 PM THIS EVENING.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 13 PERCENT.

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

* IMPACTS...DRY WEATHER AND GUSTY WINDS WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL 
  FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. ANY FIRES THAT START
MAY SPREAD RAPIDLY AND BECOME DIFFICULT TO EXTINGUISH.

&&

$$

HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/BOX  /ALL LOWER CASE/
FOR THE LATEST UPDATES...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BOSTON

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AT
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSBOSTON

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AT
@NWSBOSTON

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Massachusetts, 2015 Every 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.