Alert archive / Minnesota / Red Flag Warnings in 2016

Red Flag Warning 4, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 5, 201618 counties in Minnesota; 17 counties in North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this red flag warning at May 5, 2016, 12:22 PM CDT for 18 counties in Minnesota; 17 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 9 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
May 5, 2016, 12:22 PM CDT (17:22 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 2016, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
9 hr
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
All 35 counties

Becker County, MN, Beltrami County, MN, Clay County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Grant County, MN, Hubbard County, MN, Kittson County, MN, Lake of the Woods County, MN, Mahnomen County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Norman County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Roseau County, MN, Wadena County, MN, Wilkin County, MN, Barnes County, ND, Benson County, ND, Cass County, ND, Cavalier County, ND, Eddy County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Griggs County, ND, Nelson County, ND, Pembina County, ND, Ramsey County, ND, Ransom County, ND, Richland County, ND, Sargent County, ND, Steele County, ND, Towner County, ND, Traill County, ND, Walsh County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 32 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:21 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

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 290 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 2016-05-05Temperature 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 2016-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 142 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2770 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
142 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
409 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

374 
WWUS83 KFGF 051722
RFWFGF

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
1222 PM CDT THU MAY 5 2016

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-060200-
/O.NEW.KFGF.FW.W.0004.160505T1722Z-160506T0200Z/
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS-
WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-NORTH BELTRAMI-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-
EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN-
SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN-
WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON-
GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-
RICHLAND-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY-
1222 PM CDT THU MAY 5 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR LOW
RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND GUSTY WINDS FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND GUSTY WINDS...WHICH IS IN
EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

* AFFECTED AREA...IN MINNESOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 001...002... 
  003...004...005...006...007...008...009...013...014...015...
  016... 017...022...023...024...027...028...029...030...031...
  032 AND 040. IN NORTH DAKOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 006...007...
  008...014... 015...016...024...026...027...028...029...030...
  038...039...049... 052...053 AND 054.

* WINDS...SOUTHWEST 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.

* TIMING...THROUGH THIS EVENING.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 15 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE LOWER 80S.

* IMPACTS...ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP COULD SPREAD RAPIDLY.

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
656 
WWUS83 KFGF 060152
RFWFGF

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
852 PM CDT THU MAY 5 2016

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-060300-
/O.EXP.KFGF.FW.W.0004.000000T0000Z-160506T0200Z/
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS-
WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-NORTH BELTRAMI-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-
EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN-
SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN-
WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON-
GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-
RICHLAND-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY-
852 PM CDT THU MAY 5 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR LOW
RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND GUSTY WINDS FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

CONDITIONS HAVE DROPPED BELOW CRITICAL THRESHOLDS AND THE RED FLAG
WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 900 PM CDT.

$$
WJB

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Minnesota, 2016Red Flag Warnings in North Dakota, 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.