Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2015

Red Flag Warning 5, NWS Mobile, AL

February 14, 20158 counties in Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this red flag warning at Feb 14, 2015, 2:04 PM CST for 8 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Feb 15, 2015, 11:00 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
Feb 14, 2015, 2:04 PM CST (20:04 UTC)
In effect from
Feb 15, 2015, 11:00 AM CST
Expired
Feb 15, 2015, 6:00 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, Monroe County, AL, Wilcox County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 152 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:03 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, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 171 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 2015-02-14Temperature 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2015-02-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 167 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
1933 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 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.

638 
WWUS84 KMOB 142004
RFWMOB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
204 PM CST SAT FEB 14 2015

...A RED FLAG WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOR PORTIONS
OF THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA DUE TO A LONG
DURATION OF VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AT OR BELOW 24
PERCENT...

.A STRONG AREA OF SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVERSPREADS THE AREA FROM THE
NORTH ON SUNDAY AND BRINGS A REINFORCING DRY AIRMASS TO THE CENTRAL GULF
COAST. ALTHOUGH DAYTIME HIGHS WILL BE ON THE COOL SIDE ON SUNDAY...DEWPOINTS
DROPPING DOWN INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS RESULTS IN A LONG
DURATION OF CRITICALLY LOW HUMIDITY OVER PORTIONS OF THE INTERIOR.

ALZ052-059-062-142115-
/O.CAN.KMOB.FW.A.0003.150215T1700Z-150216T0000Z/
WASHINGTON-ESCAMBIA-UPPER BALDWIN-
204 PM CST SAT FEB 14 2015

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR THE COUNTIES OF 
WASHINGTON...ESCAMBIA AND UPPER BALDWIN IN ALABAMA AS CRITICALLY LOW
HUMIDITY VALUES WILL NOT BE MET FOR AN UPGRADE TO RED FLAG WARNINGS.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS CANCELLED THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH.

ALTHOUGH DRY...LOWEST AFTERNOON HUMIDITY LOOKS TO BE ABOVE 25 PERCENT
OVER THESE ZONES. THIS RANGE IN HUMIDITY DOES NOT MEET CRITERIA FOR
AN UPGRADE TO RED FLAG WARNINGS.

$$

ALZ051-053>058-060-151200-
/O.UPG.KMOB.FW.A.0003.150215T1700Z-150216T0000Z/
/O.NEW.KMOB.FW.W.0005.150215T1700Z-150216T0000Z/
CHOCTAW-CLARKE-WILCOX-MONROE-CONECUH-BUTLER-CRENSHAW-COVINGTON-
204 PM CST SAT FEB 14 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY ALONG AND 
NORTH OF A LINE FROM GILBERTOWN...GROVE HILL...EVERGREEN TO ANDALUSIA ALABAMA  
DUE TO A LONG DURATION OF VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AT OR BELOW 24
PERCENT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY. THE
FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. 


* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 051...053...054...055... 
  056...057...058 AND 060. 

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY: FALLING TO A RANGE OF 17 TO 23 PERCENT.

* WINDS: NORTH TO NORTHEAST 6 TO 8 MPH.

* 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
980 
WWUS84 KMOB 151213
RFWMOB

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
613 AM CST SUN FEB 15 2015

...A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR PORTIONS OF
INTERIOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA DUE TO A LONG DURATION
OF CRITICALLY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AT OR BELOW 24 PERCENT...

.A STRONG AREA OF SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION
FROM THE NORTH TODAY AND WILL BRING A REINFORCING DRY AIRMASS TO THE
CENTRAL GULF COAST. ALTHOUGH DAYTIME HIGHS WILL BE ON THE COOL SIDE
TODAY...DEWPOINTS DROPPING INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS WILL 
RESULT IN A LONG DURATION OF CRITICALLY LOW HUMIDITY OVER PORTIONS
OF THE INTERIOR.

ALZ051-053>058-060-160000-
/O.CON.KMOB.FW.W.0005.150215T1700Z-150216T0000Z/
CHOCTAW-CLARKE-WILCOX-MONROE-CONECUH-BUTLER-CRENSHAW-COVINGTON-
613 AM CST SUN FEB 15 2015

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO
6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR LOCATIONS ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM
GILBERTOWN...GROVE HILL...EVERGREEN TO ANDALUSIA ALABAMA DUE TO 
A LONG DURATION OF VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AT OR BELOW 24
PERCENT...

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 051...053...054...055... 
  056...057...058 AND 060. 

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY: FALLING TO A RANGE OF 18 TO 23 PERCENT FOR
  SEVERAL HOURS.

* WINDS: NORTH TO NORTHEAST 5 TO 10 MPH.

* 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
Feb 14, 5:27 AM CSTFire Weather WatchMOBButler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more9 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.