Alert archive / Florida / Red Flag Warnings in 2026

Red Flag Warning 3, NWS Miami, FL

May 2, 20264 counties in Florida

NWS Miami, FL issued this red flag warning at May 2, 2026, 1:41 AM EDT for 4 counties in Florida. It took effect at May 2, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT. 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 2, 2026, 1:41 AM EDT (05:41 UTC)
In effect from
May 2, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT
Expired
May 2, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS Miami, FL

Counties Broward County, FL, Glades County, FL, Hendry County, FL, Palm Beach County, FL

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 115 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:44 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

Miami, FL (KMFL), launched 00:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 99 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, Miami, FL at 00:00Z on 2026-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 273 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Miami, FL at 00:00Z on 2026-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 105 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
273 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-114 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1286 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

803 
WWUS82 KMFL 020541
RFWMFL

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Miami FL
141 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026

FLZ071-163-166-167-263-266-267-021500-
/O.NEW.KMFL.FW.W.0003.260502T1500Z-260502T2300Z/
Inland Broward County-Glades County Lake Region-
Hendry County Lakes Region-Palm Beach County Lake Region-
Glades County-Hendry County-Inland Palm Beach County-
141 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EDT
THIS EVENING...

* AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 071 Inland Broward County, 
  Fire Weather Zone 163 Glades County Lake Region, Fire Weather 
  Zone 166 Hendry County Lakes Region, Fire Weather Zone 167 
  Palm Beach County Lake Region, Fire Weather Zone 263 Glades 
  County, Fire Weather Zone 266 Hendry County and Fire Weather 
  Zone 267 Inland Palm Beach County.

* TIMING...From 11 AM this morning to 7 PM EDT this evening.

* WINDS...Southwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 35 percent.

* TEMPERATURES...Up to 95.

* IMPACTS...Breezy southerly winds combined with low RH values and
  very dry fuels may result in dangerous fire weather behavior
  this afternoon into the early evening hours.

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.

&&

$$
2 follow-up statements
465 
WWUS82 KMFL 021448
RFWMFL

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Miami FL
1048 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026

FLZ071-163-166-167-263-266-267-022300-
/O.CON.KMFL.FW.W.0003.260502T1500Z-260502T2300Z/
Inland Broward County-Glades County Lake Region-
Hendry County Lakes Region-Palm Beach County Lake Region-
Glades County-Hendry County-Inland Palm Beach County-
1048 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EDT THIS
EVENING...

* AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 071 Inland Broward County, 
  Fire Weather Zone 163 Glades County Lake Region, Fire Weather 
  Zone 166 Hendry County Lakes Region, Fire Weather Zone 167 
  Palm Beach County Lake Region, Fire Weather Zone 263 Glades 
  County, Fire Weather Zone 266 Hendry County and Fire Weather 
  Zone 267 Inland Palm Beach County.

* TIMING...Until 7 PM EDT this evening.

* WINDS...Southwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 35 percent.

* TEMPERATURES...Up to 95.

* IMPACTS...Breezy southerly winds combined with low RH values 
  and very dry fuels may result in dangerous fire weather 
  behavior this afternoon into the early evening hours.

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.

&&

$$
654 
WWUS82 KMFL 022249
RFWMFL

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Miami FL
649 PM EDT Sat May 2 2026

FLZ071-163-166-167-263-266-267-030000-
/O.EXP.KMFL.FW.W.0003.000000T0000Z-260502T2300Z/
Inland Broward County-Glades County Lake Region-
Hendry County Lakes Region-Palm Beach County Lake Region-
Glades County-Hendry County-Inland Palm Beach County-
649 PM EDT Sat May 2 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING...

Conditions will improve overnight as a front approaches, so the
Red Flag Warning will be allowed to expire at 7PM. 

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this red flag warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this red flag warning went out at May 2, 1:29 AM EDT, 12 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Updated at 118 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026
  • Unseasonable near record heat this afternoon could result in heat related illnesses if proper hydration or cooling is not followed.
  • Gusty southerly winds will result in hazardous marine conditions across the northern Atlantic waters and dangerous fire weather behavior across northern inland areas of South Florida this afternoon.
  • Showers and storms are possible beginning tonight with rain chances peaking during the afternoon hours of Sunday. Heavy rainfall, lightning, and gusty winds will be the main hazards possible with any thunderstorms.
Area forecast discussion, May 2, 1:29 AM EDT, 12 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Miami FL
129 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 118 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026

    - Unseasonable near record heat this afternoon could result in
      heat related illnesses if proper hydration or cooling is not
      followed.

    - Gusty southerly winds will result in hazardous marine
      conditions across the northern Atlantic waters and dangerous
      fire weather behavior across northern inland areas of South
      Florida this afternoon.

    - Showers and storms are possible beginning tonight with rain
      chances peaking during the afternoon hours of Sunday. Heavy
      rainfall, lightning, and gusty winds will be the main
      hazards possible with any thunderstorms.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(Rest of today through Saturday)
Issued at 349 PM EDT Fri May 1 2026

Unfortunately, the (lack of) April showers did not bring May
flowers. Instead, near-record sweltering heat is upon us and we
still remain dry, with much of South Florida still under Extreme
Drought (D3) conditions. In fact, elevated fire weather conditions
exist across most of the peninsula due to these warm, dry, and
breezy conditions. Surface high pressure just off the coast of
southwest Florida will continue to dominate the weather pattern over
the region for today and tomorrow. The 18z MFL sounding shows a
layer of very dry air between 850 and 600 mb, with mid-level
subsidence once again looking to keep things mostly sunny through
the afternoon. With the subtropical jet strewn across north Florida,
westerly flow will also begin to increase aloft. Diurnal mixing may
be able to bring down some of this stronger flow to the surface,
creating breezier southwesterly winds. Surface pressure gradients
will strengthen through tomorrow as a cold front swings south
through north Florida and an area of low pressure deepens off the
coast of the Carolinas. This will result in stronger southwesterly
winds of 10 to 15 kts across the region through most of Saturday.
With breezier winds looking to start earlier in the morning, the
threat of dense fog is much lower for tonight. Wind gusts of 20 to
25 kts would also facilitate the threat of rapid fire spread should
one occur. However, this warm southerly flow will also introduce a
little bit more moisture into the region, keeping conditions above
Red Flag criteria. On the other hand, these higher relative
humidities will raise heat indices across the region.

Increased southwesterly flow will keep the Atlantic sea breeze
pinned to the immediate coast, allowing for the east coast metro
areas to heat up efficiently throughout the afternoon. Warm air
advection and mostly sunny skies will allow for many locations to
climb up into the low to mid 90s, near record for early May. High
temperatures trended up once again for Saturday afternoon, with KMIA
now forecast to tie a record high of 93 F, set back in 1937.
According to HREF ensemble probabilities, there is about a 40% to
60% chance for large swaths of the metro area to reach greater than
93 F, which would break several records all along the coast from
Miami to Palm Beach. Despite high temp guidance trending higher,
maximum heat indices actually dipped slightly lower for Saturday due
to dewpoints dropping just a tad. However, heat indices will still
be near 100 F for the Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach metros; the
highest they've been so far this year. As a result, the NWS HeatRisk
tool shows a widespread threat of Moderate risk of heat-related
impacts. The NWS Prototype Probabilistic HeatRisk is showing a 75%
chance of parts of metro Miami-Dade and Broward reaching a Major
(level 3 of 4) risk of heat-related illnesses. This means that
anyone that does not take proper cooling and hydration breaks during
prolonged outdoor activities will be at risk of heat exhaustion or
even heat stroke. Increased hospitalizations due to heat-illness
should be anticipated, and health systems or related industries may

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Saturday night through Thursday)
Issued at 218 AM EDT Fri May 1 2026

After unseasonable and near record heat possible across portions of
South Florida on Saturday, the second half of the weekend is
forecast to be more convectively active as the frontal boundary
arrives at our doorstep. Zooming back into the forecast via a
synoptic lens, the surface low offshore of the Carolina coast will
continue to deepen as it accelerates to the northeast into the
northern Atlantic in tandem with the axis of the longwave trough
sliding eastward across the Great Lakes. This will result in the
continued propagation of the frontal boundary southward across the
Florida Peninsula Saturday night into Sunday. While deterministic and
ensemble models have come into better agreement over the past 24
hours, differences do remain from model suite to model suite even at
this hour.

Much of the forecast uncertainty (as discussed in various
discussions over the past 48 hours) falls on the exact timing and
evolution of the frontal boundary across our region. A quicker and
earlier arrival of the frontal boundary into and across the region
would limit any destabilization ahead of the boundary which would
preclude any threat of more robust storms or threat of heavier
rainfall. Conversely, a slower propagation and arrival could
provide enough time for destabilization to occur and for more
robust convection to fire in the vicinity of the boundary and a
higher concern for an localized urban flooding threat. QPF
clusters as well as ensemble guidance continue to depict
widespread rainfall totals remaining in the 1-2" range, with the
highest values forecast over the east coast metro. Some localized
totals could be slightly higher where boundary collisions and
back-building occurs. The Weather Prediction Center has maintained
a marginal risk (level 1 of 4) of excessive rainfall across the
eastern half of the region on Sunday. Deterministic and ensemble
models are great for diagnosing the overall synoptic setup but
often have spatial and temporal limitations on the metaphysics of
convective evolution. Luckily, we are almost at the window of time
where our more reliable deterministic (HRRR, RAP, etc) and
ensemble (HREF, REFS, etc) mesoscale models can help us better
diagnose the setup. The evolution of the front over the next 48
hours will give us better insight into which solution will be more
likely to occur. Be sure to stay tuned to the forecast over the
next 48 hours as details become more clear.

As the the mid-level trough advects into the western Atlantic during
the day on Monday, the frontal boundary will stall just to our south
over the Florida Keys and Florida Straits. Rain chances will
decrease during this period but remain in the 30-40% range across
the region as a temperature gradient is forecast during the
afternoon hours (low 80s across the northeastern portion of the
region, upper 80s across coastal southwestern Florida). The axis
of mid-level troughing will continue into the western Atlantic on
Monday night as 500mb flow across the region veers back to a
northwesterly component.

A developing mid-level ridge across the Gulf and southern United
States will slide eastward into the region during the mid-week
period bringing a return to well above average temperatures and low
rain chances during the mid-week period. Widespread high
temperatures in the low to mid 90s are possible during this
period.

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 118 AM EDT Sat May 2 2026

Gusty southerly winds will develop across the region between
13-15z before enhancing further during the afternoon hours.
Frequent gusts of 20-25 knots will be possible at most terminals
for much of the afternoon before winds lessen below 10 knots
after sunset. Increasing SHRA may arrive across SWFL after 00z and
increase in coverage through the end of the TAF period. MVFR cigs
and an erratic wind shift could be realized at KAPF during this
time period but confidence remains too low to include any lower
cigs/vis at this time.

&&

.MARINE...
Issued at 218 AM EDT Fri May 1 2026

Light and variable winds across all local waters at daybreak will
veer to a southwesterly direction across the Gulf waters and out
of a southerly to southeasterly direction across the nearshore
Atlantic waters by the early afternoon hours. An afternoon wind
surge could once again result in a brief duration of small craft
exercise caution conditions (SCEC) across the northern Atlantic
waters. Winds will begin to enhance tonight as a frontal boundary
moves southward across the northern Gulf, resulting in SCEC
conditions once again across the Atlantic waters on Saturday with
even some potential of a brief duration of conditions hazardous to
small craft across the northern Atlantic zones. Seas across the
Atlantic waters will generally range from 2 to 4 feet through the
first half of the weekend while seas across the Gulf waters remain
at 2 feet or less. The arrival of a frontal boundary in the
vicinity of South Florida during the second half of the weekend
into next week could result in scattered to numerous showers and
storms across the local waters which could bring locally hazardous
winds and waves during that time frame. Northeasterly swell
behind the frontal boundary early next week could result in higher
wave heights across the Gulfstream waters during that time frame.

&&

.BEACHES...
Issued at 218 AM EDT Fri May 1 2026

Due to a lingering northeasterly swell, a high risk of rip currents
will persist across the Palm Beaches for the first half of the
weekend. A moderate risk of rip currents will remain in place across
the rest of the Atlantic Coast beaches during this time frame

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 218 AM EDT Fri May 1 2026

A nocturnal inversion present across the majority of inland South
Florida at daybreak will erode over the remainder of the morning
hours as winds gradually enhance out of westerly to southwesterly
direction. While wind speeds will remain relatively light, enhanced
fire behavior remains possible this afternoon as a combination of
dry fuels (Fire Potential Forecast of 4) and relative humidity
values (mid 30s to low 40s) near critical thresholds is forecast for
inland locations once again. Closer to the coast, onshore winds will
moderate the airmass slightly precluding lower relative humidity
values. Winds will enhance and become breezy to gusty on Saturday,
especially during the afternoon hours which may once again
facilitate enhanced fire behavior on Saturday afternoon. With the
frontal boundary arriving across the region on Sunday, moisture
return and precipitation will act to bring increased moisture back
into the region.

&&

.CLIMATE...
Issued at 218 AM EDT Fri May 1 2026

Today's Forecasted High Temperature Values:
Miami (KMIA): 89
Fort Lauderdale (KFLL): 88
West Palm Beach(KPBI): 88

Today's 90th Percentile High Temperature Values: (1 in 10 Chance)
Miami (KMIA): 92
Fort Lauderdale (KFLL): 91
West Palm Beach (KPBI): 91

Today's Record Maximum High Temperature Values:
Miami (KMIA): 92
Fort Lauderdale (KFLL): 92
West Palm Beach (KPBI): 93

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Miami            93  75  83  71 /   0  30  80  60
West Kendall     94  72  86  68 /   0  30  80  60
Opa-Locka        93  75  84  71 /   0  30  90  60
Homestead        92  74  85  71 /   0  30  80  70
Fort Lauderdale  92  74  81  71 /   0  30  90  60
N Ft Lauderdale  93  74  80  71 /   0  40  90  60
Pembroke Pines   95  76  85  71 /   0  30  90  60
West Palm Beach  94  72  79  70 /  10  50  90  50
Boca Raton       93  74  80  71 /  10  40  90  60
Naples           87  72  82  67 /   0  70  70  30

&&

.MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...High Rip Current Risk through this evening for FLZ168.

AM...Small Craft Advisory from noon today to 8 PM EDT this evening
     for AMZ650-670.

GM...None.
&&

SHORT TERM...NMP
LONG TERM....Hadi
AVIATION...Hadi

The office that day

Everything else NWS Miami, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 1, 11:38 PM EDTSmall Craft AdvisoryMFL20 hr
May 2, 6:36 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementMFLGlades39 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Florida, 2026Every red flag warning in 2026

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.