FNUS73 KDMX 071030 FWSDMX SPOT FORECAST FOR RATHBUN...US COE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 430 AM CST WED MAR 7 2012 FORECAST IS BASED ON IGNITION TIME OF 1100 CST ON MARCH 07. IF CONDITIONS BECOME UNREPRESENTATIVE...CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. AN INITIAL OBSERVATION AT IGNITION AND A MID BURN OBSERVATION ARE REQUIRED... PLEASE RELAY THEM TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FOR EACH PRESCRIBED BURN. .DISCUSSION... THERE IS AN ENHANCED FIRE DANGER FOR TODAY WITH A VERY HIGH GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER INDEX. SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN AFTER SUNRISE...REACHING SPEEDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS BY MID MORNING. RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL PLUNGE TO NEAR 50 PERCENT BY EARLY AFTERNOON. LATER TODAY A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH CAUSING WINDS TO DIMINISH BRIEFLY...BUT THEY WILL THEN TURN SHARPLY TO THE NORTHWEST AND INCREASE AGAIN. .TODAY... SKY/WEATHER.........MOSTLY CLOUDY (80-90 PERCENT). SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN LATE IN THE MORNING. CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON...THEN RAIN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURE.........64 AT IGNITION...MAX 69. RH..................63 PERCENT AT IGNITION...MIN 54 PERCENT. EYE LEVEL WINDS.....BREEZY. SOUTHWEST WINDS 17 TO 25 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST AROUND 13 MPH LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. HAINES INDEX........2 OR VERY LOW POTENTIAL FOR LARGE PLUME DOMINATED FIRE GROWTH. MIXING HEIGHT.......2900 FT AGL INCREASING TO 6000 FT AGL. MIXING WINDS........SOUTH 22 TO 28 MPH INCREASING TO SOUTHWEST 33 TO 41 MPH EARLY IN THE MORNING...THEN INCREASING TO 36 TO 43 MPH LATE IN THE MORNING BECOMING WEST 21 TO 29 MPH LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. SMOKE DISPERSAL.....GOOD (86200 KNOT-FT) INCREASING TO EXCELLENT (165000 KNOT-FT) LATE IN THE MORNING...THEN INCREASING TO EXCELLENT (192500 KNOT-FT) EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON DECREASING TO EXCELLENT (186000 KNOT-FT) LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND (20 FT)........WINDS SOUTH AT 25 MPH AT IGNITION...OTHERWISE BREEZY. SOUTHWEST WINDS 17 TO 25 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST AROUND 13 MPH LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTY AND ERRATIC WINDS EXPECTED NEAR THUNDERSTORMS LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. TIME (CST) 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM SKY (%).........90 92 92 93 94 95 96 WEATHER COV.....SCH CHC CHC CHC DEF DEF DEF WEATHER TYPE....RN RW RW RW RW RW RW TSTM COV........ ISO ISO ISO TEMP............64 65 66 68 68 67 65 RH..............63 63 61 54 54 56 60 20 FT WIND DIR..S S SW SW SW SW W 20 FT WIND SPD..25 24 24 24 22 17 13 20 FT WIND GUST.35 35 35 30 30 25 15 EYE LVL WND DIR.S S SW SW SW SW W EYE LVL WND SPD.18 17 17 17 16 12 9 EYE LVL WND GST.35 35 35 30 30 25 15 MIX HGT (KFT)...4.4 4.8 5.2 5.6 6.0 5.3 4.5 MIXNG WIND DIR..SW SW SW SW SW SW W MIXNG WIND SPD..43 43 41 39 36 29 21 HAINES INDEX....2 2 2 2 2 2 2 .TONIGHT... SKY/WEATHER.........MOSTLY CLOUDY (75-85 PERCENT). RAIN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE EVENING...THEN CHANCE OF RAIN AND LIGHT SLEET AFTER MIDNIGHT. RH..................MAX 82 PERCENT. EYE LEVEL WINDS.....NORTHWEST WINDS 6 TO 15 MPH INCREASING TO 14 TO 17 MPH LATE IN THE EVENING. TIME (CST) 6 PM 8 PM 10 PM MIDNGT 2 AM 4 AM SKY (%).........96 96 95 95 83 68 WEATHER COV.....DEFNTE DEFNTE DEFNTE CHANCE CHANCE CHANCE WEATHER TYPE....RNSHWR RNSHWR RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN TSTM COV........ISOLTD ISOLTD RH..............67 71 76 73 82 78 EYE LEVEL WIND..W 4 NW 7 NW 11 NW 12 NW 11 NW 10 EYE LVL WND GST. 15 20 25 25 20 $$ FORECASTER...LEE REQUESTED BY...JOHN PASA TYPE OF REQUEST...PRESCRIBED .TAG 20120307.RATHB.01/DMX