Wildfire in Texas, January 1 to 4, 2006

Name: Wildfire in Texas, January 1 to 4, 2006
Start: 2006-01-01T11:00
End: 2006-01-04T17:00
Location: Texas

January 1 to 4, 2006 · NWS AMA · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

and dry fuels combined to produce extreme fire danger conditions. A wildfire burned nearly twenty-three thousand acres in the southeast Texas panhandle between Interstate 40 and Clarendon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 happened

The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.

A deepening low pressure system over Kansas...low relative humidities...and dry fuels combined to produce extreme fire danger conditions. A wildfire burned nearly twenty-three thousand acres in the southeast Texas panhandle between Interstate 40 and Clarendon. Several houses were threatened outside Clarendon...however the fire was diverted around them. Another wildfire burned nearly thirty-one hundred acres just northeast of Shamrock. About one hundred people were evacuated by authorities and about ten structures and one motel were threatened by the wildfire. One firefighter on the Howardwick wildfire was injured when he received minor burns to the face.

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 1, 10:51 AM CST, 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 10:51 AM CST, 9 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
1051 AM CST SUN JAN 1 2006

.UPDATE...
WE HAVE UPGRADED TO HIGH WIND WARNING FOR SWRN AND SOUTH-CENTRAL
ZONES OF TX PNHDL. WEST TX MESONET SITE AT HEREFORD SHOWING 40 MPH
PLUS SUSTAINED. THIS LOCATION IS VERY NEAR H5 VORT MAX...WHICH WILL
TRANSLATE EWD NEXT FEW HRS. SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL REMAIN
TIGHT...AND WITH FEW CLOUDS TO INHIBIT MIXING...ADDITIONAL HIGH WINDS
EXPECTED REST OF TDA.

COCKRELL/GARCIA

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... (ISSUED 408 AM CST SUN JAN 1 2006)

DISCUSSION...
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE THE NEW YEAR WILL START OFF WITH FIRE
WEATHER CONCERNS AS AN INTENSE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE MOVING ACROSS
THE SOUTH PLAINS. STRONG WINDS...DRY FUELS...AND LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES WILL WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE AN EXTREMELY HIGH FIRE
DANGER. UPGRADED THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH TO A RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE
PANHANDLE REGION. THOUGH THE CRITERIA IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE MET UNTIL
THE AFTERNOON HOURS...COMMON SENSE LEADS US TO INCLUDE THE MORNING
HOURS SINCE THE STRONG WIND AND DRY FUEL COMBINATION WILL STILL BE A
VIABLE THREAT. OF COURSE...EXISTING WIND ADVISORY WILL REMAIN FOR THE
ENTIRE FORECAST AREA TODAY.

WINDS WILL DIMINISH TONIGHT ONCE THE SURFACE LOW SLIDES EAST AND THE
PRESSURE GRADIENT WEAKENS. THE NEXT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS STILL ON
TRACK TO PUSH THROUGH THE AREA ON TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT. ONCE
AGAIN...DRY LOW LEVELS WILL PRECLUDE ANY PRECIPITATION FROM
OCCURRING. WARMER SOUNDINGS ON TUESDAY RAISE TEMPERATURES TO NEAR
RECORD UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DOWNSLOPING WINDS. ALSO...BREEZY WINDS
ON TUESDAY WILL INCREASE THE FIRE DANGER AGAIN GIVEN THE PREVAILING
DRY CONDITIONS.

NORTHWEST FLOW EMERGES WEDNESDAY THEN LASTS THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. DRY
PATTERN SHOULD PERSIST WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WHILE MODIFIED
PACIFIC AIR REPLACES ITSELF WITH FRONTAL PASSAGES ON THURSDAY...
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.

&&

.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     BEAVER...CIMARRON...AND TEXAS.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     BEAVER...CIMARRON...AND TEXAS.

TX...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     ARMSTRONG...CARSON...COLLINGSWORTH...DALLAM...DEAF SMITH...
     DONLEY...GRAY...HANSFORD...HARTLEY...HEMPHILL...
     HUTCHINSON...LIPSCOMB...MOORE...OCHILTREE...OLDHAM...
     POTTER...RANDALL...ROBERTS...SHERMAN...AND WHEELER.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     COLLINGSWORTH...DALLAM...HANSFORD...HARTLEY...HEMPHILL...
     HUTCHINSON...LIPSCOMB...MOORE...OCHILTREE...ROBERTS...
     SHERMAN...AND WHEELER.

     HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     ARMSTRONG...CARSON...DEAF SMITH...DONLEY...GRAY...OLDHAM...
     POTTER...AND RANDALL.

&&

01/03

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 1, 6:00 AM CST, 5 hours before

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
600 AM CST SUN JAN 1 2006

OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-021200-
ARMSTRONG-BEAVER-CARSON-CIMARRON-COLLINGSWORTH-DALLAM-DEAF SMITH-
DONLEY-GRAY-HANSFORD-HARTLEY-HEMPHILL-HUTCHINSON-LIPSCOMB-MOORE-
OCHILTREE-OLDHAM-POTTER-RANDALL-ROBERTS-SHERMAN-TEXAS-WHEELER-
600 AM CST SUN JAN 1 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES.

.DAY ONE...

A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY ACROSS ALL OF THE TEXAS AND
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES UNTIL 6 PM. VERY WINDY CONDITIONS...LOW AFTERNOON
RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES...AND DRY GRASSES
WILL ALL COMBINE AND CREATE AN EXTREME FIRE DANGER TODAY.

A WIND ADVISORY IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES UNTIL 6 PM. VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TODAY.
STRONG WESTERLY AND NORTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO
NEAR 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED BY LATE MORNING AND WILL CONTINUE
THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST AND REDUCED
VISIBLITIES MAY ACCOMPANY THE STRONG WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...

A HIGH FIRE POTENTIAL IS ALSO POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY AS WINDY AND
DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO THE PANHANDLES.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

DRILLETTE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Donley

When: January 1, 11:00 AM CST to January 4, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Donley forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.965, -100.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Wheeler

When: January 1, 11:00 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where: Wheeler forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.401, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 Texas in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, January 2006

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: 5486446, 5486447.