Ongoing extreme to exceptional drought conditions across southeast Texas contributed to a large wildfire across Hardin County.
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 LCH wrote it up.
Ongoing extreme to exceptional drought conditions across southeast Texas contributed to a large wildfire across Hardin County.
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 Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 13, 5:30 AM CST, 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 630 AM CDT WED APR 13 2011 .AVIATION... OTHER THAN SOME PATCHY LIGHT FOG ACRS S CNTL LA THIS MORNING...VFR CONDITIONS WERE NOTED OVER THE AREA. WINDS WILL BECOME MORE SRLY THIS MORNING AS SFC HIGH PRESSURE MOVES EAST WITH VFR CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 335 AM CDT WED APR 13 2011/ DISCUSSION... STARTING OUT A BIT CHILLY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS EARLY MORNING WITH TEMPERATURES AROUND 50F NORTH TO MID 50S SOUTH. SKIES ARE MAINLY CLEAR AS WATER VAPOR SHOWS A DRY SUBSIDENT AIR MASS OVERHEAD. EXPECT A MAINLY QUIET WEATHER DAY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. SURFACE RIDGE FROM THE GREAT LAKES DOWN TO THE NORTHERN GULF WILL SLIDE OFF TO THE EAST ALLOWING FOR MORE OF A SOUTHEAST FLOW TO DEVELOP DURING THE DAY TODAY. STILL ANY RETURN MOISTURE AT FIRST WILL BE SHALLOW AND WEAK...THEREFORE...STILL A DECENT CHANCE OF LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS RANGING IN THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S. SO THE MAIN CONCERN WILL BE ELEVATED FIRE RISK FROM THESE LOW HUMIDITY VALUES. ALTHOUGH WIND SPEEDS WILL BE RELATIVELY LIGHT. SOUTHERLY FLOW OFF THE GULF WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY UNTIL A COLD FRONT WORKS ITS WAY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO MOISTEN THE LOW LEVELS AND INCREASE HUMIDITY VALUES. HOWEVER...SOUTHWEST FLOW ABOVE THE SURFACE AND IN THE MID LEVELS WILL LIKELY KEEP A DECENT CAP IN PLACE HELPING TO PRECLUDE ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY UNTIL THE FRONT REACHES THE AREA. EVEN THEN...DYNAMICS AND FRONTAL LIFT SEEM WEAK AND THE CAP MAY INDEED NOT BE BROKEN...SO WILL KEEP POPS ON THE LOW END AND IN THE 20-30 RANGE FOR FRIDAY WITH THE BEST CHANCE OVER THE NORTHEAST AND EAST ZONES. ANOTHER BRIEF COOL DOWN WILL OCCUR ON SATURDAY BEFORE SOUTHERLY FLOW AGAIN RETURNS ON SUNDAY. NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM FOR NEXT WEEK HAS BEEN DELAYED BY THE GLOBAL MODELS AND IS LOOKING MORE LIKE LATE TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. RUA MARINE... LIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL PREVAIL TODAY AS HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO MOVE EAST OF THE COASTAL WATERS. THESE SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE DURING THURSDAY AND ESPECIALLY ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS IN THE PLAINS. SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THAT TIME FRAME. THE TAIL END OF A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS DURING FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A FEW SHOWERS/STORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE OVER THE NEAR SHORE WATERS WITH THE FRONT...OTHERWISE A WIND SHIFT TO THE NORTH WILL OCCUR AND INCREASE ON FRIDAY NIGHT WITH EXERCISE CAUTION OR LOW END SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY POSSIBLE. THE NORTHERLY WINDS WILL RELAX ON SATURDAY...THEN BECOME EAST TO SOUTHEAST ON SUNDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS. RUA && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 81 62 82 69 / 0 0 10 10 KBPT 80 66 81 70 / 0 0 10 10 KAEX 82 57 85 69 / 0 0 10 20 KLFT 81 60 83 69 / 0 0 10 10 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. && PUBLIC/MARINE...07 AVIATION...24
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 402 AM CDT WED APR 13 2011 LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-141115- VERNON-RAPIDES-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD-ALLEN-EVANGELINE-ST. LANDRY- CALCASIEU-JEFFERSON DAVIS-ACADIA-LAFAYETTE-UPPER ST. MARTIN- CAMERON-VERMILION-IBERIA-ST. MARY-LOWER ST. MARTIN-TYLER-JASPER- NEWTON-HARDIN-JEFFERSON-ORANGE- 402 AM CDT WED APR 13 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT VERY LOW AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL LIKELY OCCUR ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE REGION WITH VALUES IN THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S PERCENT RANGE. THIS...ALONG WITH THE ONGOING DRY CONDITIONS...WILL CREATE AN ELEVATED FIRE DANGER...ESPECIALLY FOR GRASS FIRES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION ON FRIDAY WITH A SMALL CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-141115- SABINE LAKE-CALCASIEU LAKE-VERMILION BAY- COASTAL WATERS FROM CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM INTRACOASTAL CITY TO CAMERON, LA OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO INTRACOASTAL CITY, LA OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX EXTENDING FROM 20 NM TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM INTRACOASTAL CITY, LA TO CAMERON, LA EXTENDING FROM 20 NM TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO INTRACOASTAL CITY, LA EXTENDING FROM 20 NM TO 60 NM- 402 AM CDT WED APR 13 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL PREVAIL. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS ON FRIDAY. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE AHEAD OF THE FRONT WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF EXERCISE CAUTION CONDITIONS. A MODERATE NORTH WIND WILL THEN DEVELOP BEHIND THE FRONT ON FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF EXERCISE CAUTION OR SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. RUA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Post Oak Wildfire burned around 800 acres about 4 miles south-southwest of Wildwood.
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: 296308.