Alert archive / New Mexico / Red Flag Warnings in 2016

Red Flag Warning 2, NWS El Paso, TX

January 31, 2016El Paso County, Hudspeth County, Texas; 4 counties in New Mexico

NWS El Paso, TX issued this red flag warning at Jan 31, 2016, 6:49 AM MST for El Paso County, Hudspeth County, Texas; 4 counties in New Mexico. It took effect at Jan 31, 2016, 11:00 AM MST. 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
Jan 31, 2016, 6:49 AM MST (13:49 UTC)
In effect from
Jan 31, 2016, 11:00 AM MST
Expired
Jan 31, 2016, 7:00 PM MST
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS El Paso, TX

Counties Doña Ana County, NM, Lincoln County, NM, Otero County, NM, Sierra County, NM, El Paso County, TX, Hudspeth County, TX

The radar

The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:46 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

Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), launched 12:00Z, 1.8 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 12:00Z on 2016-01-31Temperature 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 12:00Z on 2016-01-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 116 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
2586 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

336 
WWUS84 KEPZ 311349
RFWEPZ

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
649 AM MST SUN JAN 31 2016

...DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS FOR THE LOWLANDS TODAY...

.STRONG WESTERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. AS A
RESULT...WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 MPH
WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL BE FALLING BELOW 15
PERCENT OVER THE LOWLANDS SOUTH AND EAST OF AN ALAMOGORDO TO LAS
CRUCES LINE WHICH WILL CREATE SOME AREAS OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS.

NMZ111-311500-
/O.CAN.KEPZ.FW.A.0002.160131T1800Z-160201T0300Z/
NEW MEXICO FIRE WEATHER ZONE 111
 SOUTHWEST DESERTS AND LOWLANDS/LAS CRUCES BLM/GLZ-
649 AM MST SUN JAN 31 2016

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR STRONG WINDS AND LOW
RELATIVE HUMIDITIES FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONE 111...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA HAS
CANCELLED THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH. 

RELATIVE HUMIDITIES OVER NMZ111 WILL REMAIN ABOVE 15 PERCENT
BUT WINDS WILL BE AROUND 20 MPH WHICH WILL CREATE NEAR RED FLAG
CONDITIONS. 

$$

NMZ112-TXZ055-056-312200-
/O.UPG.KEPZ.FW.A.0002.160131T1800Z-160201T0300Z/
/O.NEW.KEPZ.FW.W.0002.160131T1800Z-160201T0200Z/
NEW MEXICO FIRE WEATHER ZONE 112
 SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS AND SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE VALLEY/BLM/GLZ-
LNZ-TEXAS FIRE WEATHER ZONE 055
 EL PASO COUNTY-TEXAS FIRE WEATHER ZONE 056
 HUDSPETH COUNTY-
649 AM MST SUN JAN 31 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM MST
THIS EVENING FOR STRONG WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA HAS
ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS
MORNING TO 7 PM MST THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO
LONGER IN EFFECT. 

* WIND...WEST TO SOUTHWEST AT 20 TO 25 MPH.

* HUMIDITY...12 TO 15 PERCENT.

* THE GREATEST THREAT FOR CRITICAL CONDITIONS WILL BE OVER FAR
  WEST TEXAS AND SOUTH OF AN ALAMOGORDO TO LAS CRUCES LINE IN NEW
  MEXICO.

* 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
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES CAN
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$
26
1 follow-up statement
668 
WWUS84 KEPZ 312105
RFWEPZ

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
205 PM MST SUN JAN 31 2016

...DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS FOR THE LOWLANDS INTO THIS EVENING...

.STRONG WESTERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. AS A
RESULT...WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE AT 20 TO 25 MPH
WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL BE FALLING BELOW 15
PERCENT OVER THE LOWLANDS SOUTH AND EAST OF AN ALAMOGORDO TO LAS
CRUCES LINE WHICH WILL CREATE SOME AREAS OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS.

NMZ112-TXZ055-056-010200-
/O.CON.KEPZ.FW.W.0002.000000T0000Z-160201T0200Z/
NEW MEXICO FIRE WEATHER ZONE 112
 SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS AND SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE VALLEY/BLM/GLZ-
LNZ-TEXAS FIRE WEATHER ZONE 055
 EL PASO COUNTY-TEXAS FIRE WEATHER ZONE 056
 HUDSPETH COUNTY-
205 PM MST SUN JAN 31 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM MST THIS EVENING
FOR STRONG WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...

* WIND...WEST TO SOUTHWEST AT 20 TO 25 MPH.

* HUMIDITY...12 TO 15 PERCENT.

* THE GREATEST THREAT FOR CRITICAL CONDITIONS WILL BE OVER FAR 
  WEST TEXAS AND SOUTH OF AN ALAMOGORDO TO LAS CRUCES LINE IN 
  NEW MEXICO.

* 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
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES CAN
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

&&

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS El Paso, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 31, 5:01 AM MSTWind AdvisoryEPZEl Paso4 hr
Jan 31, 1:19 PM MSTHigh Wind WarningEPZEl Paso, Hudspeth23 hr
Jan 31, 6:02 AM MSTWinter Storm WarningEPZ31 hr
Jan 31, 6:02 AM MSTWinter Weather AdvisoryEPZGrant, Hidalgo, Luna, Otero40 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in New Mexico, 2016Red Flag Warnings in Texas, 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.