Wildfire in Oklahoma, November 3, 2005

Name: Wildfire in Oklahoma, November 3, 2005
Start: 2005-11-03T13:30
End: 2005-11-03T18:00
Location: Oklahoma

November 3, 2005 · NWS OUN · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 3, 3:29 AM CST, 10 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 3, 3:29 AM CST, 10 hours 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
329 AM CST THU NOV 3 2005

.DISCUSSION...
VERY HIGH TO EXTREME FIRE DANGER AND NEAR RECORD WARMTH EXPECTED
TODAY AS AN UNUSUALLY WARM AIRMASS PERPETUATED BY DOWNSLOPE FLOW
INFLUENCES THE REGION AHEAD OF A ROCKIES LEE SURFACE TROUGH. RECORD
HIGH AT OKLAHOMA CITY IS 84 AND WICHITA FALLS IS 86. CURRENTLY
FORECASTING JUST BELOW THESE NUMBERS WHILE AREAS CLOSEST TO THE
PANHANDLE THAT WERE IN THE MID 80S WEDNESDAY MAY REACH 90 TODAY.

THE EMPHASIS TODAY HOWEVER WILL BE THE RED FLAG WARNING WHICH IS
ALREADY IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. WINDS IN EXCESS OF 20 MPH AND
TEMPERATURES ABOVE 75 SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT FOR A WARNING MOST AREAS.
ALTHOUGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY MAY BE ANOTHER FACTOR ACROSS WESTERN
OKLAHOMA WITH FORECASTS OF SLIGHTLY BELOW 20 PERCENT BY MID
AFTERNOON.

THE LATEST NAM/GFS ARE IN STRONG AGREEMENT REGARDING THE SHORT TERM
EVOLUTION OF THE SURFACE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT FARTHER
NORTH WITH BOTH MODELS INDICATING THAT THE FRONT WILL WEAKEN AND
MOVE TO NEAR THE KANSAS/OKLAHOMA BORDER LATE TONIGHT AND REMAIN
THERE UNTIL SATURDAY BEFORE ACCELERATING SOUTHWARD. HAVE THEREFORE
RAISED MAX TEMPERATURES FRIDAY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA
AND EXPANDED THE EXISTING FIRE WEATHER WATCH TO INCLUDE ALL AREAS
SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 WITH TEMPERATURES/RH/KBDI FACTORS SUPPORTING
THE WATCH. SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA MAY EXPERIENCE LOWER
LEVEL MOISTURE ADVECTION THAT KEEPS HUMIDITY WELL ABOVE 20 PERCENT.
HOWEVER KBDI VALUES ARE NEAR 400 IN MANY AREAS WITH A BURN BAN
ALREADY IN EFFECT FOR BRYAN COUNTY.

A MODIFIED PACIFIC AIRMASS THEN INFLUENCES THE REGION SATURDAY
BEHIND THE COLD FRONT BEFORE ANOTHER WARMING TREND AND WINDIER
CONDITIONS RETURN MONDAY AND ESPECIALLY TUESDAY. WEDNESDAY MAY BE A
TRANSITION DAY WITH THE LATEST MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SHOWING ANOTHER
COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA.
REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT EXISTS AMONG THE MODELS AND THEREFORE
HAVE TRIMMED TEMPERATURES DOWNWARD JUST A LITTLE NEAR THE KANSAS
BORDER WHICH ALSO MATCHES NICELY WITH AMARILLO/DODGE CITY/WICHITA.

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
OKLAHOMA CITY OK  81  58  82  52 /   0   0  10   0
HOBART OK         84  57  84  50 /   0   0  10   0
WICHITA FALLS TX  85  59  86  56 /   0   0  10   0
GAGE OK           88  51  78  45 /   0   0  10   0
PONCA CITY OK     80  55  78  48 /   0   0  10   0
DURANT OK         81  59  85  60 /   0   0  10   0

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...RED FLAG WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR
     OKZ004-OKZ005-OKZ006-OKZ007-OKZ008-OKZ009-OKZ010-OKZ011-
     OKZ012-OKZ013-OKZ014-OKZ015-OKZ016-OKZ017-OKZ018-OKZ019-
     OKZ020-OKZ021-OKZ022-OKZ023-OKZ024-OKZ025-OKZ026-OKZ027-
     OKZ028-OKZ029-OKZ030-OKZ031-OKZ032-OKZ033-OKZ034-OKZ035-
     OKZ036-OKZ037-OKZ038-OKZ039-OKZ040-OKZ041-OKZ042-OKZ043-
     OKZ044-OKZ045-OKZ046-OKZ047-OKZ048-OKZ050-OKZ051-OKZ052.

     FIRE WEATHER WATCH FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR OKZ014-OKZ016-OKZ021-
     OKZ022-OKZ033-OKZ034-OKZ035-OKZ036-OKZ037-OKZ038-OKZ044.

     FIRE WEATHER WATCH FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR OKZ023-OKZ024-OKZ025-
     OKZ026-OKZ027-OKZ028-OKZ029-OKZ030-OKZ031-OKZ032-OKZ039-
     OKZ040-OKZ041-OKZ042-OKZ043-OKZ045-OKZ046-OKZ047-OKZ048-
     OKZ050-OKZ051-OKZ052.

TX...RED FLAG WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR
     TXZ083-TXZ084-TXZ085-TXZ086-TXZ087-TXZ088-TXZ089-TXZ090.

     FIRE WEATHER WATCH FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR TXZ083-TXZ084-TXZ085-
     TXZ086-TXZ087-TXZ088-TXZ089-TXZ090.

JAMES

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 3, 11:15 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1115 AM CST THU NOV 3 2005

OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-041300-

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
NO THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.

DISCUSSION...
DESPITE RECORD OR NEAR RECORD WARMTH THIS AFTERNOON...THE PRESENCE
OF VERY DRY AIR AT ALL LEVELS WILL LIMIT CLOUD COVER AND WILL
PREVENT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CST FRIDAY NOV 4.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
              NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...0 PERCENT.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
EXTREME FIRE DANGER WILL DEVELOP AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON OVER ALL OF
OKLAHOMA AND NORTH TEXAS. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE 80S
ACROSS THE REGION...AND EVEN NEAR 90 IN FAR WESTERN OKLAHOMA.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL DROP TO BETWEEN 12 AND 25 PERCENT...AND
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL AVERAGE 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH.
UNDER THESE CONDITIONS ANY FIRES THAT START WILL SPREAD QUICKLY AND
BURN INTENSELY. USE CAUTION TO PREVENT THE START OR SPREAD OF
WILDFIRES. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE QUICKLY AFTER 6 PM THIS EVENING
WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING AND A DECREASE IN WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS IS LOW. A COLD FRONT
WILL MOVE SLOWLY SOUTH ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND NORTH TEXAS FROM FRIDAY
INTO SATURDAY...BEFORE WEAKENING AND LIFTING NORTH AS A WARM
FRONT ON MONDAY. THE FRONT WILL ENCOUNTER DRY AIR OVER OKLAHOMA AND
WESTERN NORTH TEXAS...SO THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE
FRONT WILL REMAIN MINIMAL...OR LESS THAN 10 PERCENT. A SLIGHTLY
STRONGER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION EARLY WEDNESDAY.
MOISTURE WILL INCREASE BRIEFLY AHEAD OF THIS COLD FRONT...BUT
SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY FOR THUNDERSTORMS MAY NOT DEVELOP UNTIL THE
FRONT MOVES INTO FAR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHEAST TEXAS. THE
CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN NORTH
TEXAS WILL REMAIN VERY LOW.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
VERY HIGH TO EXTREME FIRE DANGER WILL EXIST AGAIN ON FRIDAY
AFTERNOON OVER WESTERN NORTH TEXAS AND MOST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
OKLAHOMA. ALTHOUGH WINDS WILL NOT BE AS STRONG ON FRIDAY... DRY AND
UNSEASONABLY WARM CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS
IN EFFECT FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR AREAS GENERALLY NEAR AND SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 40.

THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AT 7 AM
FRIDAY.

24/BURKE

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Beckham

When: November 3, 1:30 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Beckham forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.269, -99.682 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A wildfire began 4 miles west of Erick during the early afternoon of November 3rd. Winds gusting to 40 mph and dry conditions helped this fire spread rapidly eventually burning an area 7 miles long and 2 miles wide. Firefighter from Beckham county, Roger Mills county, the U.S. Forestry Service and several Texas fire departments were used to fight the fire. A National Guard helicopter was also called in to dump water on the blaze. The fire destroyed one home along with several barns and abandoned farmhouses. The smoke from this fire was seen for miles and affected Interstate 40 for a time.

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, November 2005

Sources

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: 5480525.