Elevated fire weather conditions persisted April 1st and 2nd. Then on April 3rd, strong southwest winds developed behind the dryline and brought a very dry air mass into the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Elevated fire weather conditions persisted April 1st and 2nd. Then on April 3rd, strong southwest winds developed behind the dryline and brought a very dry air mass into the area. This combination of very warm temperatures, very low relative humidities, and strong winds created critical fire weather conditions across a large part of West Central Texas.
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 Apr 1, 2:15 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 315 PM CDT FRI APR 1 2011 .SHORT TERM... WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY SLIDING THROUGH WEST CENTRAL TEXAS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. NOT REALLY MUCH COOLER BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT AT LEAST THE AREAS BEHIND IT ARE NOT SEEING THE COMPRESSIONAL HEATING WE HAVE GOING ON AHEAD OF IT. AFTERNOON HIGHS CLIMBING WELL INTO THE 90S AHEAD OF THE FRONT...BUT REMAINING IN THE 80S BEHIND IT. THIS FRONT WILL ACT JUST LIKE THE ONE YESTERDAY...ESSENTIALLY DROPPING SOUTH AND WEAKENING...WITH A NEW LEE TROUGH DEVELOPING AND ALLOWING WINDS TO SWITCH TO THE SOUTH QUICKLY LATE TONIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY. RETURNING SOUTH WINDS WILL HELP MITIGATE THE DRY AIR MASS IN PLACE...AND KEEP WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD RADIATIONAL COOLING NIGHT FROM SETTING UP. THUS...WILL STAY A FEW DEGREES ABOVE GUIDANCE. SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS AGAIN ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON WILL BRING THE SAME AIR MASS WE ARE SEEING TODAY BACK INTO THE AREA. THUS...GUIDANCE HIGHS ROUGHLY ON PAR WITH WHAT WE ARE SEEING TODAY LOOK REASONABLE. && .FIRE WEATHER... ELEVATED FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS OCCURRING THIS AFTERNOON...AS TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S AND 90S COMBINE WITH OCCASIONALLY GUSTY WINDS AND THE WIND SHIFT MOVING THROUGH. MUCH THE SAME ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON...AS HUMIDITY VALUES PLUMMET WITH A DRY AIR MASS IN PLACE. LEE TROUGH SETS UP TO THE WEST...BUT PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS RATHER WEAK. MUCH LIKE TODAY...WILL SEE AN OCCASIONAL GUST UP OVER 25 MPH...BUT SUSTAINED WINDS WILL BE MUCH LOWER. CONDITIONS ON SUNDAY HAVE DETERIORATED...AND HAVE ISSUED A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR AREAS EAST OF A THROCKMORTON TO ABILENE TO SAN ANGELO TO OZONA LINE. DRYLINE MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS WILL BRING STRONGER SOUTHWEST WINDS...AS PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS CONSIDERABLY OVER WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT YESTERDAY. AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF THE DRYLINE WILL SEE HUMIDITY VALUES FALL BELOW 20 PERCENT PRETTY EASILY...PERHAPS APPROACHING 10 PERCENT NEAR SWEETWATER. WIND FIELDS ALOFT HAVE STRENGTHENED AS WELL...PARTICULARLY NEAR 00Z. 07 .LONG TERM... BY EARLY SUNDAY A BROAD UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BE CENTERED OVER THE PLAINS STATES AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH BEGINS TO AMPLIFY OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. BY LATE SUNDAY A POSITIVE TILTED UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL EXTEND FROM THE FOUR CORNERS AREA NORTHEAST INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS AS THE UPPER LEVEL WINDS OVER THE FORECAST AREA BEGIN BACKING TO THE SOUTHWEST. THE DRYLINE WILL MOVE EAST FROM THE PERMIAN BASIN DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY AND WILL BE ENTERING OUR WESTERN BORDER COUNTIED BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS THE 850MB THERMAL RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE WESTERN CWA. NEAR RECORD HIGHS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY AFTERNOON OVER THE WESTERN CWA AS COMPRESSIONAL WARMING IN ADVANCE OF A MONDAY FRONTAL PASSAGE BUMPS AFTERNOON HIGHS INTO THE MID 90S. MODELS AGREE IN BRINGING THE COLD FRONT INTO THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE LATE SUNDAY EVENING AND NEARING THE NORTHERN BIG COUNTRY BY SUNRISE MONDAY. THE EASTWARD MOVING DRYLINE SUNDAY AFTERNOON WILL HAVE PUSHED AS FAR AS OUR EASTERN COUNTIES BEFORE BEGINNING TO RETREAT BACK TO THE WEST SUNDAY EVENING...THUS MOISTURE RECOVERY OVER THE FORECAST AREA SUNDAY NIGHT WILL BE LIMITED BEFORE THE DRYLINE AGAIN PUSHES EAST ACROSS THE AREA EARLY MONDAY. LLJ SUPPORT IN THIS TIME FRAME WILL ALSO BE DIMINISHING OVER THE CWA AS IT CRANKS UP OVER EAST TEXAS. WITH THIS IN MIND AND WITH THE COLD FRONT PUSHING SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA WELL AFTER THE DRYLINE HAS EXITED OUR EASTERN COUNTIES...THUS AVOIDING ANY COLD FRONTAL INTERACTION WITH THE DRYLINE ...THE MOST REALISTIC CHANCE FOR ASSOCIATED CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WILL BE OVER OUR SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES WHERE CONVERGENCE ALONG THE EXITING DRYLINE WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF ENCOUNTERING THE BEST LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. HAVE THEREFORE INTRODUCED MINIMAL POPS OVER OUR SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES FOR EARLY MONDAY. THE DRYLINE WILL QUICKLY PUSH WELL EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA BY NOON MONDAY WITH THE COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE CWA AND INTO SOUTH TEXAS. THE COLD FRONT MONDAY WILL DROP TEMPERATURES ON TUESDAY BACK TO NEAR NORMAL READINGS IN THE UPPER 70S...BUT AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL QUICKLY REBOUND WARMING INTO THE MID 80S BY THE END OF THE EXTENDED. MORNING LOWS GENERALLY IN THE 40S TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WILL WARM INTO THE MID TO UPPER 50S BY THE END OF THE EXTENDED...WELL ABOVE NORMAL. DRY FORECAST CONTINUES THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 55 88 64 96 60 / 10 10 10 10 10 SAN ANGELO 52 96 64 96 60 / 0 10 10 10 10 JUNCTION 56 93 65 95 62 / 10 10 10 10 20 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: COKE...CROCKETT...FISHER...HASKELL... IRION...JONES...NOLAN...RUNNELS...STERLING...TAYLOR... THROCKMORTON...TOM GREEN. && 15
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 242 PM CDT FRI APR 1 2011 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-021945- 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- 242 PM CDT FRI APR 1 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ELEVATED FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. WITH VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES IN PLACE...BOTH GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT...AND THE NORTH WINDS THAT FOLLOW THE FRONT...MAY LEAD TO DANGEROUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A COLD FRONT AND DRYLINE MOVING ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING MAY HELP PRODUCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY ALONG AND EAST OF A COLEMAN TO EDEN TO SONORA LINE. IF STORMS DO DEVELOP...THEY MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF REACHING SEVERE LEVELS. DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...LARGE HAIL...AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. BEHIND THE DRYLINE ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON...DANGEROUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...AS GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS COMBINE WITH VERY LOW HUMIDITIES. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO SUNDAY EVENING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Harkey Fire consumed 2713 acres in northwest Schleicher County. A welding machine sparked this fire.
The Camp Bowie wildfire burned approximately 2955 acres. It threatened 12 homes but none were destroyed.
The wildfire burned 341 acres 13 miles north of Barnhart, on the Rocker B Ranch. Also, the fire threatened oil and gas wells in southern Irion County. The fire was 90 percent contained on April 6th.
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: 305108, 305118, 305229.