Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2015

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Mobile, AL

January 7, 201510 counties in Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this red flag warning at Jan 7, 2015, 2:39 PM CST for 10 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Jan 8, 2015, 10:00 AM CST. 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
Jan 7, 2015, 2:39 PM CST (20:39 UTC)
In effect from
Jan 8, 2015, 10:00 AM CST
Expired
Jan 8, 2015, 5:00 PM CST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL

Counties Butler County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 138 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:44 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 182 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 12:00Z on 2015-01-07Temperature 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 12:00Z on 2015-01-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -185 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1984 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-185 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-91 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.

018 
WWUS84 KMOB 072039
RFWMOB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
239 PM CST WED JAN 7 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 5 PM CST THURSDAY FOR 
SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA FOR RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AT
OR BELOW 24 PERCENT FOR 4 OR MORE HOURS...

.DISCUSSION...ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION THROUGH
THURSDAY AND USHERS VERY COLD AND DRY AIR INTO THE REGION.  RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO AROUND 20 PERCENT ACROSS MUCH
OF THE REGION THURSDAY AFTERNOON. A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED
FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA THURSDAY FOR A LONG DURATION
OF CRITICALLY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY. OTHER CRITERIA ARE CURRENTLY NOT
EXPECTED TO BE MET ACROSS THE NORTHWEST FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND
SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI THURSDAY.

ALZ051>064-081245-
/O.UPG.KMOB.FW.A.0001.150108T1600Z-150108T2300Z/
/O.NEW.KMOB.FW.W.0001.150108T1600Z-150108T2300Z/
CHOCTAW-WASHINGTON-CLARKE-WILCOX-MONROE-CONECUH-BUTLER-CRENSHAW-
ESCAMBIA-COVINGTON-UPPER MOBILE-UPPER BALDWIN-LOWER MOBILE-
LOWER BALDWIN-
239 PM CST WED JAN 7 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 5 PM CST THURSDAY FOR
SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA FOR RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AT
OR BELOW 24 PERCENT FOR 4 OR MORE HOURS...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 5 PM CST THURSDAY. THE
FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY: BELOW 24 PERCENT FOR 4 OR MORE HOURS.

* WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST 5 TO 10 MPH...EXCEPT 10 TO 15 MPH NEAR THE
  COAST.

* IMPACTS: ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY. 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 LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITY...AND DRY FUELS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
697 
WWUS84 KMOB 081137
RFWMOB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
537 AM CST THU JAN 8 2015

...A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 5 PM CST
THURSDAY FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA FOR RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES AT OR BELOW 24 PERCENT FOR 4 OR MORE HOURS...

.DISCUSSION...A COLD SURFACE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO
SETTLE OVER THE SOUTHEAST AND CENTRAL GULF COAST STATES TODAY AND
WILL KEEP A COLD AND VERY DRY AIRMASS IN PLACE ACROSS OUR AREA
THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO
DROP TO AROUND 20 PERCENT ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON...AND A 
RED FLAG REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA
TODAY FOR A LONG DURATION OF CRITICALLY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY. OTHER
CRITERIA ARE CURRENTLY NOT EXPECTED TO BE MET ACROSS THE NORTHWEST
FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI.

ALZ051>064-082300-
/O.CON.KMOB.FW.W.0001.150108T1600Z-150108T2300Z/
CHOCTAW-WASHINGTON-CLARKE-WILCOX-MONROE-CONECUH-BUTLER-CRENSHAW-
ESCAMBIA-COVINGTON-UPPER MOBILE-UPPER BALDWIN-LOWER MOBILE-
LOWER BALDWIN-
537 AM CST THU JAN 8 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO
5 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA FOR 
RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AT OR BELOW 24 PERCENT FOR 4 OR MORE HOURS...

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY: FALLING TO AROUND 20 PERCENT FOR 4 OR MORE
  HOURS. 

* WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST 5 TO 10 MPH OVER INLAND AREAS. NORTHEAST
  WINDS AROUND 15 MPH EARLY THIS MORNING NEAR THE COAST...BECOMING
  EAST AND DECREASING TO AROUND 10 MPH LATE THIS MORNING AND THIS
  AFTERNOON. 

* IMPACTS: ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY.
  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 LOW
RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND DRY FUELS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE
BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 7, 3:20 AM CSTGale WarningMOB27 hr
Jan 7, 3:20 AM CSTSmall Craft AdvisoryMOB33 hr
Jan 7, 3:49 AM CSTHard Freeze WarningMOBButler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more30 hr
Jan 7, 3:49 AM CSTWind Chill AdvisoryMOBButler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more30 hr
Jan 7, 3:49 AM CSTWind AdvisoryMOB20 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.