North Texas continued to experience hot and dry conditions in April. D3 drought status (the 2nd worst) was already present over all 8 counties, but two counties worsened into D4 drought status by the end of the month.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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 OUN wrote it up.
North Texas continued to experience hot and dry conditions in April. D3 drought status (the 2nd worst) was already present over all 8 counties, but two counties worsened into D4 drought status by the end of the month. Normally a wetter month, most of the normal spring thunderstorm activity missed a large portion of Oklahoma. The dry April only compounded the very dry conditions seen over the region since the beginning of October 2010. In fact, this is the 3rd driest period statewide since October 1. Agricultural impacts were severe, as most the winter wheat crop was non-existent, as well as losses to other crops. The dry conditions also gave rise to enhanced fire weather concerns, with the normal increase in wind speeds during the spring months.
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 Mar 31, 9:52 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 1052 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 .AVIATION... VFR WITH ONLY ASSORTED MID/HIGH CLOUDS FORECAST. WIND DIRECTION WILL CONTINUE TO BE A TOUGH CALL. WILL GO WITH L/V WINDS OVERNIGHT BECOMING LIGHT N/NE FRIDAY THEN VEERING TO LIGHT E/SE FRIDAY EVENING AS WEAK SFC HIGH MOVES FROM KS TOWARD AR. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 835 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011/ UPDATE... MID AND HIGH CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM ACROSS THE REGION. OTHERWISE... WARMER TEMPS EXPECTED TONIGHT WITH LIGHT WINDS. HAVE ADJUSTED SKY COVER AND HOURLY GRIDS TO SHOW CURRENT TRENDS. WILL SEND UPDATES SHORTLY. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 644 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011/ AVIATION... VFR WITH VARYING AMOUNTS OF MID/HIGH CLOUD COVER. GUSTY N-NW WINDS WILL DECREASE QUICKLY AFTER SUNSET. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 321 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011/ DISCUSSION... FINALLY... THE SUN HAS MADE AN APPEARANCE AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER. CURRENTLY... SFC TROUGH MAKING ITS WAY SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTN WITH MODERATE SFC WINDS BOTH AHEAD AND BEHIND THE TROUGH. A SMALL PART OF NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING RED FLAG CONDITIONS. HOWEVER EXPECT CONDITIONS TO REMAIN OVER A FAIRLY SMALL AREA AND FOR A LIMITED TIME AS SFC WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DECREASE IN THAT AREA DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE AFTN. SFC TROUGH WILL STALL AND WASH OUT OVERNIGHT WITH LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS. HOWEVER... ANOTHER SFC BOUNDARY WILL WORK SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA ON FRIDAY AS MID-LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS INTO THE MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. MUCH LIKE TODAY... THIS BOUNDARY WILL DO LITTLE MORE THAN BRING A SHIFT TO THE WINDS... BACK TO THE NORTH... AS WE CONT WITH WARMING TREND. SFC WINDS THEN COME BACK AROUND TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST SATURDAY MORNING AS SFC PRES FALLS OCCUR IN THE HIGH PLAINS AS STRONGER STORM SYSTEM COMES ON SHORE ACROSS PACIFIC NORTHWEST. AS WESTERN TROUGH DEEPENS SUNDAY AN INITIAL WAVE EJECTS EAST/NORTHEAST OUT OF THE BASE OF THE TROUGH... DRIVING A DRYLINE EASTWARD INTO THE AREA. THIS WILL ALLOW STRONG... GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS... LOW RH AND TEMPS IN THE UPPER 80S AND 90S TO DEVELOP BEHIND THE DRYLINE. THE RESULT IS CRITICAL FIRE WX CONDITIONS ACROSS WESTERN SECTIONS OF OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY. SOME POSSIBILITY OF THESE CONDITIONS AS FAR EAST AS I-35 CORRIDOR BY SUNDAY AFTN. WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY HEADLINES AT THIS POINT... BUT WILL LIKELY BE GOING WITH FIRE WX WATCH SOMETIME OVERNIGHT OR DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY FOR SUNDAY SCENARIO. OTHER ITEM OF INTEREST ON SUNDAY WILL BE THUNDERSTORM POSSIBILITIES EAST OF THE DRYLINE. MODELS DEVELOP QUITE A BIT OF INSTABILITY SUNDAY AFTN AHEAD OF THE DRYLINE. HOWEVER... A WARM LAYER JUST ABOVE THE SFC MAY HOLD THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ON CHECK WITH THE LACK OF REAL STRONG FORCING. IF STORMS ARE ABLE TO BREAK THROUGH THEY WOULD HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF BECOMING SEVERE. MAIN UPPER TROUGH COMES OUT INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS ON MONDAY. AT THIS POINT THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES IN WHERE THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS HAVE THE SFC FRONT. WILL KEEP WITH PREV FORECAST THOUGHT WITH BRINGING FRONT THROUGH THE AREA DURING THE DAY ON MONDAY WITH MUCH COLDER AIRMASS IN ITS WAKE. COULD SEE SOME FALLING TEMPS ACROSS AREA MONDAY AFTN. WILL ALSO KEEP SLIGHTLY BETTER PRECIP CHANCES SUN NIGHT AND MONDAY... BUT WILL GO BELOW GUIDANCE AT THIS POINT AS PERSISTENCE SEEMS TO BE BEST BET... WHICH IS TO KEEP THINGS DRY. MUCH COOLER DAY ON TUESDAY... BUT UNLIKE THIS LAST COOL/COLD SNAP THIS ONE SHOULD ONLY LAST A DAY AS PROGRESSIVE PATTERN BRINGS SOUTH WINDS AND WARMER TEMPS BACK TO THE AREA BY MID-WEEK. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... OKLAHOMA CITY OK 43 77 46 79 / 10 0 0 0 HOBART OK 43 77 47 75 / 10 0 0 0 WICHITA FALLS TX 46 85 50 80 / 10 0 0 0 GAGE OK 38 76 39 86 / 10 0 0 10 PONCA CITY OK 40 72 41 79 / 10 0 0 0 DURANT OK 45 82 48 78 / 10 10 0 0 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...NONE. TX...NONE. && 25/24/24
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1100 AM CDT THU MAR 31 2011
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-011000-
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE-
ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM-
WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND-
POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN-
COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON-
CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER-
WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
1100 AM CDT THU MAR 31 2011
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED.
DISCUSSION...
A STABLE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE.
PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT FRIDAY APR 1.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...0 PERCENT.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
LOW HUMIDITY AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL ENHANCE WILDFIRE CONDITIONS
THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA. WIND SPEEDS
SHOULD GRADUALLY DECREASE DURING THE AFTERNOON ACROSS WESTERN
OKLAHOMA.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
EXTREME WILDFIRE POTENTIAL IS EXPECTED SUNDAY WHEN A HOT AND WINDY
AIRMASS FOLLOWS A DRYLINE INTO WESTERN OKLAHOMA.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED
BY 5 AM FRIDAY.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Archer county remained in D3 drought status through the month.
Baylor county remained in D3 drought status through the month.
Clay county remained in D3 drought status through the month.
Foard county remained in D3 drought status through the month.
Hardeman county remained in D3 drought status through the month.
Knox county remained in D3 drought status through the month.
Wichita county began the month in D3 drought status, but worsened to D4 status by 4/26.
Wilbarger county began the month in D3 drought status, but worsened to D4 status by 4/26.
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: 312639, 312640, 312641, 312642, 312643, 312644, 312645, 312646.