Alert archive / South Carolina / Red Flag Warnings in 2015

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Columbia, SC

February 14, 201516 counties in South Carolina; 5 counties in Georgia

NWS Columbia, SC issued this red flag warning at Feb 14, 2015, 3:43 AM EST for 16 counties in South Carolina; 5 counties in Georgia. It took effect at Feb 14, 2015, 11:00 AM EST. 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
Feb 14, 2015, 3:43 AM EST (08:43 UTC)
In effect from
Feb 14, 2015, 11:00 AM EST
Expired
Feb 14, 2015, 7:00 PM EST
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS Columbia, SC
All 21 counties

Burke County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Aiken County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Richland County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Sumter County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 28 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:44 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

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 162 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 2015-02-14Temperature 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 2015-02-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 32 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
2488 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
123 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.

438 
WWUS82 KCAE 140843
RFWCAE

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
343 AM EST SAT FEB 14 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING...

.AN INCREASING PRESSURE GRADIENT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD
FRONT WILL RESULT IN STRONG SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS TODAY. THE
STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH NEAR CRITICAL RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES
DURING WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASED FIRE DANGER THREAT.

GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-
150000-
/O.UPG.KCAE.FW.A.0001.150214T1600Z-150214T2300Z/
/O.NEW.KCAE.FW.W.0001.150214T1600Z-150215T0000Z/
LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD-
MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON-
RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON-
BAMBERG-
343 AM EST SAT FEB 14 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EST
THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EST
THIS EVENING. 

* TIMING: 11 AM TO 700 PM TODAY. NEAR CRITICAL CONDITIONS WILL
  CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT WITH STRONG WINDS BEHIND THE COLD
  FRONT. HOWEVER...STRONG COOLING WILL RESULT IN HIGHER RELATIVE
  HUMIDITIES...DIMINISHING THE THREAT SOMEWHAT.

* WIND: SOUTHWEST TO WEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 35 MPH
  THIS AFTERNOON.

* HUMIDITY: AROUND 25 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS: ANY FIRES MAY QUICKLY SPREAD AND GROW OUT OF CONTROL
  DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF DRY VEGETATION...LOW RELATIVE
  HUMIDITY...AND STRONG WINDS. 

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 AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE
GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
748 
WWUS82 KCAE 141656
RFWCAE

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1156 AM EST SAT FEB 14 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING...

.AN INCREASING PRESSURE GRADIENT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD
FRONT WILL RESULT IN STRONG SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS THIS
AFTERNOON. THE STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH NEAR CRITICAL RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASED FIRE DANGER THREAT.

GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-
150000-
/O.CON.KCAE.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-150215T0000Z/
LINCOLN-MCDUFFIE-COLUMBIA-RICHMOND-BURKE-LANCASTER-CHESTERFIELD-
MCCORMICK-NEWBERRY-FAIRFIELD-KERSHAW-EDGEFIELD-SALUDA-LEXINGTON-
RICHLAND-LEE-AIKEN-SUMTER-BARNWELL-ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN-CLARENDON-
BAMBERG-
1156 AM EST SAT FEB 14 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS
EVENING...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING.

* TIMING: THROUGH 700 PM TODAY. NEAR CRITICAL CONDITIONS WILL 
  CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT WITH STRONG WINDS BEHIND THE COLD 
  FRONT. HOWEVER...STRONG COOLING WILL RESULT IN HIGHER RELATIVE 
  HUMIDITIES...DIMINISHING THE THREAT SOMEWHAT. 

* WIND: SOUTHWEST TO WEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 35 MPH
  THROUGH EARLY EVENING.

* HUMIDITY: AROUND 25 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS: ANY FIRES MAY QUICKLY SPREAD AND GROW OUT OF CONTROL 
  DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF DRY VEGETATION...LOW RELATIVE 
  HUMIDITY...AND STRONG WINDS. 

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 AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE
GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 14, 3:28 AM ESTLake Wind AdvisoryCAEAiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Chesterfield, Clarendon and 10 more32 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in South Carolina, 2015Red Flag Warnings in Georgia, 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.