Alert archive / Minnesota / Red Flag Warnings in 2016

Red Flag Warning 3, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 3, 2016Douglas County, Todd County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this red flag warning at May 3, 2016, 5:46 AM CDT for Douglas County, Todd County, Minnesota. It took effect at May 3, 2016, 12:00 PM CDT. 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: May 3, 2016, 5:46 AM CDT (10:46 UTC)
In effect from: May 3, 2016, 12:00 PM CDT
Expired: May 3, 2016, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 8 hr
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN

Counties Douglas County, MN, Todd County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 180 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:44 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 178 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2738 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 5 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

238 
WWUS83 KMPX 031046
RFWMPX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
546 AM CDT TUE MAY 3 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING DUE TO BREEZY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES THIS
AFTERNOON FROM WEST CENTRAL INTO CENTRAL MINNESOTA....

.A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR DOUGLAS AND TODD CONTINUES
THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO ANTICIPATED LOW HUMIDITY LEVELS AND BREEZY
WINDS. WEST NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH
WILL DEVELOP BY EARLY AFTERNOON. HUMIDITY LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO
DROP TO AROUND 25 PERCENT AS TEMPERATURES RISE INTO THE LOWER 70S.

MNZ041-042-031900-
/O.NEW.KMPX.FW.W.0003.160503T1700Z-160504T0100Z/
DOUGLAS-TODD-
546 AM CDT TUE MAY 3 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM CDT THIS
EVENING FOR BREEZY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR PORTIONS OF WEST
CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED
A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM
CDT THIS EVENING. 

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 041 AND 042...DOUGLAS AND
  TODD COUNTY. 

* WIND...WEST NORTHWEST 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH.

* HUMIDITY...DROPPING TO AROUND 25 PERCENT.

* 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.

&&

$$

1 follow-up statement

289 
WWUS83 KMPX 040055
RFWMPX

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
755 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING DUE TO BREEZY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES WILL
EXPIRE AT 8PM CDT...

.AS WINDS DIMINISH AND HUMIDITY LEVELS RISE THIS EVENING...RED
FLAG CRITERIA WILL NO LONGER BE MET...HENCE THE RED FLAG WARNING
WILL EXPIRE AT 8PM CDT.

MNZ041-042-040200-
/O.EXP.KMPX.FW.W.0003.000000T0000Z-160504T0100Z/
DOUGLAS-TODD-
755 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 2016

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR FIRE
WEATHER ZONES 041 AND 042...

AS WINDS DIMINISH AND HUMIDITY LEVELS RISE THIS EVENING...RED
FLAG CRITERIA WILL NO LONGER BE MET...HENCE THE RED FLAG WARNING
WILL EXPIRE AT 8PM CDT.

$$

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Minnesota, 2016 Every 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.