The combination of very dry air and gusty winds provided conditions conducive to a wildfire.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS SJT wrote it up.
The combination of very dry air and gusty winds provided conditions conducive to a wildfire.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 26, 2:35 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 335 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 .SHORT TERM... WARM...DRY...AND WINDY ACROSS THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON AS A DRYLINE PUSHED THROUGH THE AREA BY EARLY AFTERNOON. EXPECT THE WINDY CONDITIONS TO DIMINISH AS THE SUN SETS THIS EVENING AND MIXING IS LOST...AS THE SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT IS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF THE CURRENT WIND SPEEDS. A POTENT UPPER LEVEL LOW IS CURRENTLY DIGGING SOUTH THROUGH WESTERN CO/EASTERN UT. THIS UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL CONTINUE DIGGING SOUTH INTO NM BEFORE TURNING TO THE EAST/NORTHEAST AND KICKING OUT ACROSS THE TX SOUTH PLAINS AND OK TOMORROW. AT THE SURFACE...A VERY COLD AIR MASS WILL BE POISED TO MOVE SOUTH INTO THE AREA MOST OF THE NIGHT...ALLOWING OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES TO REMAIN NEAR NORMAL OR WARMER ACROSS MOST OF THE CWA. THIS COLD AIR WILL DIVE SOUTH INTO THE CWA TOMORROW. THE COLDEST AIR IS NOT EXPECTED TO ARRIVE UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY TOMORROW. AS THE LOW MOVES ACROSS THE TX SOUTH PLAINS AND INTO OK TOMORROW...THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY AREA. HOWEVER... DUE TO DRY MOVING IN ALOFT AROUND THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE MOISTURE...WE ARE GOING TO KEEP POPS LOW. DUE TO VERY COLD AIR ALOFT...SOME OF THIS PRECIPITATION COULD BE A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW. HOWEVER...SINCE TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING THROUGHOUT THE DAY...NO ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. EVEN SO...WITH THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS AND MIXED PRECIP...ROADS COULD BECOME SLICK...MAKING DRIVING CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS...ESPECIALLY BY THE AFTERNOON HOURS FRIDAY. .LONG TERM... UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE QUICKLY NORTHEAST OUT OF THE AREA SATURDAY TO A POSITION OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BY SATURDAY EVENING. AFTER AN UNSEASONABLY COLD START TO THE DAY SATURDAY MORNING WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER 30S...TEMPS WILL REBOUND DURING THE DAY WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS AROUND 60. SUNDAY WILL AGAIN SEE MORNING LOWS IN THE 30S WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS WARMING TO THE SEASONABLE 70S. THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEST COAST UPPER LEVEL SYSTEMS WILL PASS OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS KEEPING ANY ASSOCIATED RAINFALL NORTH OF THE AREA. WILL SEE DRY WEAK FRONTAL PASSAGES ON MONDAY AND THURSDAY OF THE COMING WEEK WITH PREFRONTAL DAYTIME HIGHS IN THE 80S AND POST FRONTAL DAYTIME HIGHS IN THE 70S. MORNING LOWS SHOULD RANGE FROM THE MID 40S TO LOW 50S. A DRY WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EXTENDED. .FIRE WEATHER... THE RED FLAG WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGH 7PM TONIGHT AS WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS GREATER THAN 20 MPH...COMBINED WITH VERY WARM TEMPERATURES AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL CONTINUE THROUG THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON ACROSS THE CONCHO VALLEY...BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU. VERY POOR RECOVERY WILL TAKE PLACE ACROSS THE CONCHO VALLEY AND NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU TONIGHT...BUT WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET AS MIXING CEASES. TOMORROW...MUCH COLDER AIR WILL MOVE IN KEEPING RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES ABOVE 20 PERCENT...BUT WINDS WILL BE JUST AS STRONG...IF NOT STRONGER OUT OF THE NORTHWEST...ESPECIALLY BY LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. ELEVATED CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN IN THE AREA THROUGHOUT THE NEXT 7 DAYS WITH WARMING TEMPERATURES AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES FALLING TO LESS THAN 25 PERCENT ACROSS THE AREA EACH DAY. THE ONE LIMITING FACTOR TO REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS AT THIS TIME APPEARS TO BE WIND SPEEDS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 49 53 33 57 34 / 10 20 10 0 0 SAN ANGELO 54 57 35 63 33 / 10 10 0 10 0 JUNCTION 57 67 35 63 33 / 10 10 10 0 0 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: CALLAHAN...COKE...COLEMAN...CONCHO...CROCKETT...FISHER... IRION...JONES...NOLAN...RUNNELS...SCHLEICHER...SHACKELFORD... STERLING...SUTTON...TAYLOR...TOM GREEN. LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: BROWN...CALLAHAN...COKE...COLEMAN...CONCHO...FISHER... IRION...JONES...NOLAN...RUNNELS...SHACKELFORD...STERLING... TAYLOR...TOM GREEN. && 99/15
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 256 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-272000- FISHER-NOLAN-STERLING-COKE-RUNNELS-IRION-TOM GREEN-CONCHO- CROCKETT-SCHLEICHER-SUTTON-HASKELL-THROCKMORTON-JONES-SHACKELFORD- TAYLOR-CALLAHAN-COLEMAN-BROWN-MCCULLOCH-SAN SABA-MENARD-KIMBLE- MASON- 256 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE BIG COUNTRY AND CONCHO VALLEY AREAS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. STRONG WEST WINDS...EXTREMELY DRY AIR...AND HIGH TO EXTREME FIRE DANGERS HAVE COMBINED TO CREATE THE RED FLAG CONDITIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MUCH COLDER AIR WILL MOVE IN ON FRIDAY. ALONG WITH THIS COLDER AIR IS A CHANCE FOR WINTRY PRECIPITATION...MAINLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20. WHILE A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW IS POSSIBLE...AND NO ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED...THESE MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW...ALONG WITH STRONG WINDS...COULD CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY FRIDAY. ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE WEEK WITH WARMING TEMPERATURES AND DRY RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 348 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 TXZ049-054-098-099-113-114-127-128-271100- FISHER-NOLAN-HASKELL-THROCKMORTON-JONES-SHACKELFORD-TAYLOR- CALLAHAN- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ROTAN...ROBY...SWEETWATER...HASKELL... THROCKMORTON...WOODSON...STAMFORD...ANSON...HAMLIN...ALBANY... ABILENE...CLYDE...BAIRD...CROSS PLAINS 348 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 ...MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND POSSIBLE MIX OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION FRIDAY ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY... A POTENT UPPER LEVEL STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION ON FRIDAY... BRINGING A CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION TO THE BIG COUNTRY. IN ADDITION...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR BY 8 AM TOMORROW MORNING. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH BY LATE MORNING ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. TEMPERATURES BEHIND THE COLD FRONT WILL REMAIN STEADY OR FALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY...KEEPING TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 40S TO LOWER 50S ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY. THIS MAY CAUSE WIND CHILL VALUES TO DROP INTO THE 20S ACROSS THE HASKELL AND THROCKMORTON COUNTY AREAS. VERY COLD AIR ALOFT WILL ALSO MOVE IN...WHICH WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR SOME OF THE RAIN TO MIX WITH SNOW...MAINLY NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. WHILE IT WILL BE TOO WARM FOR ANY SNOW THAT DOES FALL TO ACCUMULATE ON MOST PAVED SURFACES...ROADS MAY STILL BECOME SLICK...AND COMBINED WITH THE STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS...DRIVING CONDITIONS COULD BECOME HAZARDOUS BY THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire burned 575 acres on the Keppler Creek Ranch.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 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: 159644.