Alert archive / Colorado / Red Flag Warnings in 2016

Red Flag Warning 16, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 13, 20165 counties in Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this red flag warning at Jul 13, 2016, 3:42 AM MDT for 5 counties in Colorado. It took effect at Jul 13, 2016, 10:00 AM MDT. It was in force for 10 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
Jul 13, 2016, 3:42 AM MDT (09:42 UTC)
In effect from
Jul 13, 2016, 10:00 AM MDT
Expired
Jul 13, 2016, 8:00 PM MDT
In force
10 hr
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

Counties Boulder County, CO, Grand County, CO, Jackson County, CO, Larimer County, CO, Summit County, CO

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:42 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

Denver, CO (KDEN), launched 00:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 229 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, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 2016-07-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 393 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 2016-07-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -45 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
393 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3309 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

908 
WWUS85 KBOU 130942
RFWBOU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
342 AM MDT WED JUL 13 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE HIGH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS OF NORTHERN
COLORADO...AND PORTIONS OF THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND
NORTHERN FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS TODAY FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW
HUMIDITIES...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 211...213...215...AND 217...

.DRY AND VERY WARM WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE OVER THE
STATE TODAY. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE DANGER FROM LATE THIS
MORNING INTO EARLY EVENING. DANGEROUS FIRE BEHAVIOR WILL BE
POSSIBLE.

COZ214-131045-
/O.CAN.KBOU.FW.A.0006.160713T1600Z-160714T0200Z/
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-
342 AM MDT WED JUL 13 2016

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITY FOR SOUTH PARK...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 214...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS CANCELLED THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH FOR SOUTH PARK...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 214.

WHILE HUMIDITIES WILL DROP TO AROUND 10 PERCENT TODAY...WIND
SPEEDS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED TO REACH RED FLAG CRITERIA.

$$

COZ211-213-215-217-131745-
/O.UPG.KBOU.FW.A.0006.160713T1600Z-160714T0200Z/
/O.NEW.KBOU.FW.W.0016.160713T1600Z-160714T0200Z/
JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-
GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-
WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-
342 AM MDT WED JUL 13 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MDT
THIS EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR THE HIGH
MOUNTAIN VALLEYS OF NORTHERN COLORADO...PORTIONS OF THE NORTH
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS...FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 211...213...215...AND 217.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 211...213...215 AND 217.

* TIMING...10 AM MDT UNTIL 8 PM MDT TODAY.

* WINDS...WEST 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...10 TO 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS...GUSTY WEST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY MAY ALLOW
  ANY EXISTING FIRES OR NEW FIRES TO SPREAD RAPIDLY. DANGEROUS
  AND ERRATIC FIRE BEHAVIOR IS POSSIBLE. 

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.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
847 
WWUS85 KBOU 140203
RFWBOU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
803 PM MDT WED JUL 13 2016

...THE RED FLAG WARNING IS EXPIRING AT 8PM...


COZ211-213-215-217-140315-
/O.EXP.KBOU.FW.W.0016.000000T0000Z-160714T0200Z/
JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-
GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-
WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-
803 PM MDT WED JUL 13 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR WIND
AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR ZONES 211...213...217 OF NORTHERN
COLORADO. 

AS TEMPERATURES FALL THIS EVENING RELATIVE HUMIDITIES ARE CLIMBING
INTO THE UPPER TEENS AND 20S. WINDS HAVE RELAXED WITH LESS THAN 15
MPH MOST AREAS. 

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 12, 11:22 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington38 min
Jul 12, 11:52 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBOUWashington3 hr
Jul 13, 12:01 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington44 min
Jul 13, 12:25 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUWashington3 hr
Jul 13, 12:48 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUWashington57 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Colorado, 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.