Very dry conditions and strong winds caused a controlled burn to become uncontrollable near Dodge Center in Dodge County on April 8th. The wildfire burned six acres of grass.
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The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
Very dry conditions and strong winds caused a controlled burn to become uncontrollable near Dodge Center in Dodge County on April 8th. The wildfire burned six acres of grass.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 8, 2:12 AM CST, 9 hours 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 312 AM CDT WED APR 8 2009 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT FORECAST CONCERNS THIS PACKAGE...TEMPERATURE...DEW POINT AND CLOUD TRENDS THRU THE PERIOD. 06Z DATA ANALYSIS HAD A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CENTERED EAST OF JAMES BAY WITH A WEAK TROUGH TO THE SOUTHWEST ACROSS THE AREA TO A WEAK LOW IN TX PANHANDLE. WV IMAGERY SHOWED A SHORTWAVE WEST OF LK WINNIPEG...DROPPING SOUTHEAST INTO THE REGION WITH A BROAD AREA OF PRESSURE FALLS ACROSS MN/IA/WI. IR/FOG-PRODUCT IMAGERY AND SFC OBS SHOW CLOUDS RATHER SCANT WITH/AHEAD OF THIS SHORTWAVE...WITH SCT MID CLOUDS FROM NORTHEAST IA TO NORTHWEST MN. TEMPS IN THE MID 20S TO MID 30S ACROSS MUCH OF MN/IA/WI AGAIN THIS MORNING. 08.00Z NAM/GFS LOOK TO HAVE INITIALIZED QUITE WELL...OFFER VERY SIMILAR SOLUTIONS FOR TODAY THRU FRI NIGHT...AND ARE WELL SUPPORTED BY ECMWF/UKMET/CAN-GEM. MODELS STILL STRUGGLE A BIT WITH THE SFC DEW POINT FIELD ACROSS THE NORTH-CENTRAL CONUS BUT THIS DOES NOT LOOK TO HAVE AN IMPACT THIS CYCLE. DPROG/DT OF 500MB HGTS AT 08.00Z SHOWED NAM/GFS/ECMWF RUNS OF 06.00Z AND 07.00Z VERIFIED WELL ACROSS NOAM/ EASTERN PAC WITH SLIGHTLY BETTER RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY TO ECMWF/ NAM. THRU 36HRS...ECMWF/NAM CONTINUE TO SHOW THE BETTER RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY WITH THE SHORTWAVE SLIDING SOUTHEAST THRU THE REGION AND WITH THE TROUGH/ENERGY MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN ROCKIES. FOR 36-60HRS MODELS CONVERGING ON A COMPROMISE OF THEIR EARLIER RUNS WITH THE ENERGY/UPPER LOW INTO THE MID MS VALLEY. TREND IS STRONGER WITH THE NEXT ENERGY NEARING THE SOUTHERN CA COAST. FOR 60- 84HRS TREND IS TOWARD SLOWER/STRONGER WITH FEATURES ACROSS NOAM... WITH RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY ABOUT EQUAL BETWEEN GFS/ECMWF. CHECK OF OBS VS. MODEL DATA AT 06Z SHOWED NAM/GFS REASONABLE WITH SFC MASS FIELDS ACROSS THE CENTRAL CONUS...BUT REMAINED A BIT HIGH WITH DEW POINTS ACROSS THE REGION. PER WV IMAGERY...NAM/GFS LOOK GOOD WITH SHORTWAVE DETAILS ACROSS NOAM/EASTERN PAC. NO CLEAR MODEL FAVORITE THIS CYCLE AND WITH DIFFERENCES MINOR...FAVORING ANY ONE OVER THE OTHER LOOKS TO HAVE LITTLE IMPACT ON THE SENSIBLE WEATHER INTO THE WEEKEND. PREFERRED A MODEL/ENSEMBLE COMPROMISE...WITH FORECAST CONFIDENCE AGAIN GOOD FOR THE SHORT TERM. IN THE SHORT TERM...WITH LITTLE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH...SHORTWAVE DROPPING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION TODAY LOOKS TO DO LITTLE MORE THAN PRODUCE SOME PASSING MID CLOUDS FOR A PARTLY CLOUDY/MOSTLY SUNNY DAY. MODELS DO INDICATE SOME INCREASE OF 850MB MOISTURE IN THE WAKE OF THE SHORTWAVE AND A WEAK SFC TROUGH FOR THIS AFTERNOON. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE MIXING TO 850MB...WITH SCT CU/STRATO-CU FOR THE AFTERNOON. THIS MOISTURE SHOULD PREVENT SFC DEW POINTS FROM DROPPING TOO FAR TODAY...WITH MODELS SOUNDINGS SHOWING MIXED LAYER DEW POINTS IN THE LOWER 20S FOR THE AFTERNOON. ANOTHER AREA OF CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE THEN BUILDS IN FOR TONIGHT THRU FRI NIGHT AS THE RATHER COMPACT SFC/MID LEVEL LOW AND IT/S IMPACTS MOVE EAST ACROSS THE MID MS VALLEY. THIS SYSTEM TO DO LITTLE MORE THAN SPREAD SOME HIGH CLOUDS ACROSS MAINLY THE SOUTH END OF THE FORECAST AREA THU THRU FRI. AS THE HIGH BUILDS EAST INTO MAN/ONT AND THE LOW PASSES TO THE SOUTH...SFC WINDS BECOME NORTHEAST THEN EAST ACROSS THE AREA FOR THU THRU FRI NIGHT. WITH THE HIGH CENTERED NORTH OF LK SUPERIOR...THIS NORTHEAST FLOW THIS TIME OF YEAR CAN BE VERY SUBSIDENT OUT OF THE HIGH AND VERY DRY. THIS WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED FOR LOW DEW POINTS/LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES FOR FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS BY FRI INTO SAT. SFC HIGH AND THE DRY AIRMASS WILL MAKE FOR GOOD DIURNAL WARMING/RADIATIONAL COOLING AND LARGER THAN NORMAL DIURNAL TEMPERATURE SPREADS THE NEXT FEW DAYS. GUIDANCE HIGHS/LOWS FOR TODAY THRU FRI SIMILAR AND APPEAR QUITE REASONABLE...THOUGH WITH NORTHWEST THEN NORTHEAST WINDS...DID GENERALLY FAVOR COOLER OF HIGHS. WITH THE RIDGE AXIS OVERHEAD FRI NIGHT AND THE DRY AIRMASS...TRENDED LOWS DOWN A FEW DEGREES TOWARD 08.00Z GFS MEX MOS VALUES. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY 08.00Z GFS/ECMWF/GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN QUITE SIMILAR FOR SAT INTO TUE... MORE-SO THAN THEIR PREVIOUS RUNS AS THE NEXT TROUGH/LOW/ENERGY DIGS THRU THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES SAT/SUN...THEN LIFTS TOWARD THE MID/UPPER MS VALLEY MON/TUE. UKMET A STRONGER MORE SOUTHERN SOLUTION FOR MON/TUE WHILE CAN-GEM SLOWER THAN GFS/ECMWF CONSENSUS. SHORTWAVE RIDGING ALOFT BUILDS ACROSS THE AREA FOR SAT/SUN...WITH WEEKEND LOOKING TO REMAIN DRY WITH NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL HIGHS. THIS WELL TRENDED IN CURRENT GRID-SET. WITH THE BETTER GFS/ECMWF/GFS ENSEMBLE CONSENSUS OF A NORTHWARD SHIFT IN THE TRACK OF THE ENERGY/500MB LOW MON/TUE...MAY YET NEED MORE OF A RAIN CHANCE ACROSS AT LEAST THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...MADE NO CHANGES TO MON/TUE GRIDS FOR NOW. && .AVIATION...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. 07Z INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING A SMALL PATCH OF MID LEVEL CLOUDS WITH CEILINGS AROUND 9K FEET OVER SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA. MODELS SHOW THIS AREA TO PUSH EAST OF THE TAF SITES BY 13Z-15Z. BUFKIT SOUNDINGS INDICATING GOOD MIXING TODAY TO NEAR 875MB...WITH NEARLY UNIDIRECTIONAL WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS. SOUNDINGS ARE INDICATING 20 TO 25 KNOT GUST POTENTIAL AT BOTH TAF SITES...MAINLY BETWEEN 18Z-00Z TODAY. THESE WINDS WILL DIMINISH WITH LOSS OF HEATING THIS EVENING UNDER MAINLY CLEAR SKIES. && .FIRE WEATHER...TODAY INTO THE WEEKEND LOW DEW POINTS AND LOW HUMIDITIES A CONCERN THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS TO NORTH OF LK SUPERIOR BY FRI INTO SAT. NORTHWEST BECOMING NORTHEAST THEN EAST SFC-850MB FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO ADVECT A DRY LOW LEVEL AIRMASS INTO THE FORECAST AREA. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE MIXING TO AROUND 850MB FOR THE AFTERNOON HOURS. MIXED LAYER DEW POINTS LOOK TO BE IN THE LOWER 20S TODAY/THU. FRI/SAT MORE UNCERTAIN AS NORTHEAST FLOW CAN BE VERY DRYING COMING ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES THIS TIME OF YEAR. SOUNDINGS INDICATING MIXED LAYER DEW POINTS AROUND 20F FRI THEN IN THE TEENS SAT... ESPECIALLY OVER CENTRAL WI. REFLECTED SOME OF THIS IN THE FORECAST GRIDS BY LOWERING DEW POINTS OVER NORTHEAST END OF THE FORECAST AREA FOR FRI/SAT...BUT THIS WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED FOR POTENTIAL OF DEW POINTS/HUMIDITIES TO MIX/FALL EVEN LOWER. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...RRS FIRE WEATHER......RRS AVIATION..........RABERDING
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 500 AM CDT WED APR 8 2009 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029- 032>034-041>044-053>055-061-091100- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU- LA CROSSE-MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU- VERNON-WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 500 AM CDT WED APR 8 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA... SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED. RABERDING
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A controlled burn near Dodge Center became uncontrollable and burned six acres of grass.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, April 2009
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 158752.