Alert archive / Alabama / Red Flag Warnings in 2016

Red Flag Warning 1, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 8, 20168 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this red flag warning at Oct 8, 2016, 3:56 AM CDT for 8 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Oct 8, 2016, 1:00 PM CDT. It was in force for 5 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 8, 2016, 3:56 AM CDT (08:56 UTC)
In effect from
Oct 8, 2016, 1:00 PM CDT
Expired
Oct 8, 2016, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL

Counties Blount County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Marion County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:57 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, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 89 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 2016-10-08Temperature 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°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2016-10-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -29 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
2441 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

798 
WWUS84 KBMX 080856 CCA
RFWBMX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
356 AM CDT SAT OCT 8 2016

ALZ011>013-015-017-022>024-082300-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FW.W.0001.161008T1800Z-161008T2300Z/
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WALKER-BLOUNT-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-
356 AM CDT SAT OCT 8 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 PM
CDT THIS EVENING FOR DRY AND BREEZY CONDITIONS...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR DRY AND BREEZY CONDITIONS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1
PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

* WINDS...NORTH AROUND 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP 25 TO 30 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 22 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...A DRY AIRMASS AND WINDY CONDITIONS COMBINED WILL
  RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. OUTDOOR BURNING IS
  NOT RECOMMENDED AND WILL BE POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS.

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.

&&

$$

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Alabama, 2016Every red flag warning in 2016

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.