S. Drought Monitor placed most of West Central Texas in an extreme drought for April.
Every event with a place to put it; 24 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 U.S. Drought Monitor placed most of West Central Texas in an extreme drought for April. According to the Texas Crop Weather Report issued by the Texas A&M Agriculture Program, the following impacts were noted across West Central Texas: hot, dry and windy conditions persisted, range land and pastures were in poor condition, stock water tank levels were critically low, livestock producers had to provide supplemental feeding due to poor foliage quality, and some producers sold livestock in order to decrease stocking rates. This extreme drought also resulted in an extremely high fire danger as soils were extremely dry. For the period from November 1, 2010 to April 30, San Angelo had received 1.83 inches (6.39 is normal), Junction received 1.5 inches (8.5 is normal), and Abilene received 5.69 inches (7.54 is normal).
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 31, 11:41 PM CST, 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 1241 AM CDT FRI APR 1 2011 .DISCUSSION... SEE 06Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. && .AVIATION... CLEAR SKIES AND DRY AIR ARE IN PLACE AT THIS HOUR. EXPECT TO SEE MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE NEXT 24 HOURS AS WELL. WHILE THERE IS A SLIGHT POSSIBILITY THAT WE MAY SEE SOME LOW CLOUDS MOVE INTO OUR SOUTHEASTERN TAF LOCATIONS...THE TREND FROM LATEST OBSERVATIONS AND MODEL DATA IS DRIER...SO HAVE PULLED THE MENTION OF LOW CLOUDS AT KBBD WHILE LEAVING A TWO HOUR TEMPO GROUP IN AT KJCT. ANY LOW CLOUDS THAT ARE ABLE TO FORM WILL QUICKLY MIX OUT TOMORROW MORNING AFTER SUNRISE LEAVING ONLY FEW TO SCT UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS. EAST TO SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS TONIGHT WILL TURN TO THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST BY TOMORROW MORNING AT ALL SITES. AS SFC LOW PRESSURE MOVES THROUGH THE AREA...WINDS WILL VEER FROM SOUTHWEST TO WEST AND THEN NORTH THROUGHOUT THE DAY WITH THE EARLIEST SHIFT TAKING PLACE AT KABI AROUND NOON...AND SOUTHERN SITES TURNING TO THE NORTH/NORTHWEST LATER IN THE AFTERNOON. 20 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 650 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011/ DISCUSSION... SEE 00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. AVIATION... MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS TONIGHT WILL TURN TO THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST TOMORROW MORNING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL MOVE THROUGH DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THERE WILL BE SOME MOISTURE RETURN INTO SOUTHEASTERN TAF SITES TONIGHT...POSSIBLY BRINGING IN SOME MVFR CEILINGS TO KJCT AND KBBD AROUND 12Z TOMORROW MORNING...AND HAVE KEPT THE MENTION OF MVFR CEILINGS AT THESE SITES FOR TOMORROW MORNING. 20 PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 333 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011/ SHORT TERM... WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY SLIDING THROUGH WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON...BUT REALLY MORE OF A WIND SHIFT THAN ANYTHING ELSE. LEE TROUGH ALREADY STARTS TO REDEVELOP LATER TONIGHT...ALLOWING WINDS TO SWING BACK AROUND TO THE SOUTH BY MORNING. MODELS SUGGEST THAT LOW CLOUDS WILL REDEVELOP AND MOVE INTO THE NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY BY SUNRISE...BUT EVEN IF IT DOES DEVELOP...SHOULD BE SHORT LIVED. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE LOOKS A LITTLE WEAK...WITH SURFACE DEWPOINTS ONLY IN THE UPPER 50S AND LOWER 60S ACROSS DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. ANOTHER WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY SAGS INTO THE AREA ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WITH SOUTHWEST TO WEST FLOW JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE...WHAT LITTLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WE DO SEE SHOULD BE PUSHED RIGHT BACK OUT OF THE AREA BY EARLY AFTERNOON...EVEN WELL AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ITSELF. THUS...DESPITE SOME OKAY SHEAR AND MID LEVEL TEMPS THAT ARE NOT TOO WARM...WILL KEEP THE FORECAST DRY FOR NOW. FIRE WEATHER... APPEARS ELEVATED FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. WITH THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IN PLACE...AND WITH SOME DOWNSLOPE FLOW...WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM SEEING WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. WINDS THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE SOUTH THAN SOUTHWEST WILL KEEP DEWPOINTS FROM COMPLETELY BOTTOMING OUT...BUT THEY WILL REMAIN LOW AND AFTERNOON HUMIDITY VALUES WILL FALL TO UNDER 20 PERCENT EACH AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. HOWEVER...LOW LEVEL WIND FIELDS REMAIN WEAK AS THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS MARGINAL AT BEST. WITH THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVERHEAD...WIND FIELDS ALOFT REMAIN WEAK AS WELL. MONDAY MIGHT BE THE BIGGEST QUESTION RIGHT NOW...AS STORM SYSTEM TO THE WEST FINALLY GETS CLOSE ENOUGH TO START BRINGING BETTER WINDS ALOFT...AND THE SURFACE WINDS SWING A LITTLE MORE WESTERLY. WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION ELEVATED FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS THROUGH MONDAY...BUT WILL HOLD OFF ON A FIRE WEATHER WATCH AT THIS POINT. IF WINDS FIELDS STRENGTHEN...MIGHT HAVE TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK. 07 LONG TERM... BROAD UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL DOMINATE THE WESTERN STATES INTO THE WEEKEND WITH AN 850MB THERMAL RIDGE EXTENDING FROM NORTHERN MEXICO NORTH THROUGH WEST TEXAS AND IMPINGING UPON OUR WESTERN COUNTIES. SHOULD SEE MID 90S OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF THE AREA SATURDAY WITH LOW 90S OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE AREA. THE 850MB THERMAL RIDGE WILL EDGE A LITTLE FURTHER EAST ON SUNDAY WITH LOW TO MID 90S EXPECTED ONCE AGAIN AS AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES APPROACH RECORD HIGHS. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL DIG SOUTH INTO ARIZONA BY LATE SUNDAY...PUSHING EAST OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES BY EARLY MONDAY. MODELS HAVE BEEN INCONSISTENT EVOLVING THE SYSTEM EAST INTO TEXAS. THE LATEST GFS HAS A CLOSED UPPER LOW OVER NEW MEXICO EARLY MONDAY WITH A DRYLINE EXTENDING ALONG OUR WESTERN COUNTIES BY 06Z MONDAY. GFS EJECTS AN IMPULSE OVER THE DRYLINE EARLY MONDAY AIDED BY A DEVELOPING 50KT LLJ AND PAINTS A BROAD AREA OF CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY OVER MOST OF THE CWA. THE 12Z ECMWF ON THE OTHER HAND DOES NOT CLOSE THE UPPER LOW AND BRINGS A TROUGH AXIS THROUGH THE AREA DURING THE DAY ON MONDAY...RESTRICTING ANY CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA WHERE THE BEST MOISTURE IS LOCATED. GIVEN THE LIMITED AVAILABLE MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH MODELS AND THE CONTINUED DISAGREEMENT OF THE MODELS ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE UPPER LOW...WILL CONTINUE THE DRY FORECAST FOR MONDAY. AFTER A POST FRONTAL COOL-DOWN ON TUESDAY IN THE WAKE OF THE DEPARTING UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM...WILL SEE A GRADUAL WARM-UP THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED AS TEMPERATURES RISE INTO THE UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 49 90 54 93 64 / 0 0 10 10 10 SAN ANGELO 48 91 56 96 64 / 0 0 10 10 10 JUNCTION 49 86 56 89 65 / 0 10 10 10 10 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 253 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-012000- 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- 253 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ELEVATED FIRE DANGER IS POSSIBLE FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...AS OCCASIONALLY GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS COMBINE WITH A VERY DRY AIR MASS. ALTHOUGH WIND SPEEDS WILL LIKELY REMAIN BELOW RED FLAG CRITERIA...CONDITIONS WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
24 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Brown County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Coke County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Concho County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Crockett County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Fisher County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Haskell County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Irion County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Jones County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Kimble County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Mason County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed McCulloch County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Menard County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Nolan County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed San Saba County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Schleicher County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Shackelford County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Sterling County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Throckmorton County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Tom Green County in an extreme drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Sutton County in an exceptional drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Callahan County in a severe drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Runnels County in a severe drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Coleman County in a severe drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor placed Taylor County in a severe drought.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2011
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: 305697, 305698, 305699, 305701, 305702, 305704, 305705, 305706, 305707, 305708, 305709, 305710, 305711, 305712, 305713, 305714, 305715, 305716, 305717, 305718, 305719, 305720, 305721, 305722.