Elevated fire weather conditions persisted for most of the month due to the extreme heat and the ongoing historic drought. Many wildfires occurred during the month burning over 40,000 acres of land, several homes, and lots of personal property.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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 FWD wrote it up.
Elevated fire weather conditions persisted for most of the month due to the extreme heat and the ongoing historic drought. Many wildfires occurred during the month burning over 40,000 acres of land, several homes, and lots of personal property. From the 16th through the 20th, there were 11 grass fires that caused damage. Two large fires were started on the Fort Hood Military Base artillery training area. A grass fire in Hunt County burned a junkyard for boats and tires, and other fires burned homes in Dallas and Tarrant counties.
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 Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 11:15 AM CST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1215 PM CDT TUE AUG 16 2011 .AVIATION... WEAK NORTH FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE VARIABLE MID/HIGH CLOUDS. EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS WITH SOUTH SURFACE WINDS THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. ANY POSSIBLE STORMS THIS EVENING ARE LIKELY TO REMAIN ISOLATED AND STAY IN OKLAHOMA/RED RIVER AREAS. 84 && .UPDATE... THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WHICH DEVELOPED ALONG THE RED RIVER EARLY THIS MORNING HAVE DISSIPATED. REMOVED ALL MENTION OF WEATHER FOR THE REST OF THE MORNING AND SCALED BACK THE POPS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE BUILDING OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY AND SHOULD KEEP MOST OF THE ACTIVITY TO THE NORTH AND EAST. AS A RESULT...KEPT ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR ALL THE RED RIVER COUNTIES. 500 MB ANALYSIS SHOWED THE HIGHEST HEIGHTS AT DEL RIO AND BROWNSVILLE AND WEAK NORTHWEST FLOW OVER NORTH TEXAS. 12Z FWD SOUNDING HAD A SATURATED LAYER BETWEEN 500 AND 650 MB BUT DRY AIR ABOVE AND BELOW THIS LAYER. SATURATED LAYER IS LIKELY A RESULT OF A WEAK DISTURBANCE THAT MOVED THROUGH OVERNIGHT WHILE THE DRY LAYERS INDICATE THE INFLUENCE OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY DEPICTED A DISTURBANCE MOVING THROUGH CENTRAL KANSAS. ADDITIONALLY...SURFACE ANALYSIS IN THIS AREA SHOWED A COLD FRONT PUSHING SOUTHEAST THROUGH CENTRAL KANSAS. DESPITE THE MORNING SHOWER ACTIVITY AND RESULTANT CLOUD COVER...STILL EXPECT ABUNDANT MIXING AND MOSTLY CLEAR CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTH TEXAS. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE 101 TO 104 RANGE FOR MOST LOCATIONS. THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS IN AND AROUND GAINESVILLE WHERE THE MORNING SHOWERS DROPPED THE TEMPERATURE INTO THE UPPER 70S. HIGHS IN THIS AREA WERE REDUCED AS A RESULT AND WILL ONLY TOP OUT AROUND 98. 42/MM && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 400 AM CDT TUE AUG 16 2011/ AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CENTERED ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS THIS MORNING IS EXPECTED TO RE-ORIENT ITSELF DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS BUT CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE WEATHER ACROSS THE REGION. MID AND UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN SOME CLOUDS WHICH WILL TEND TO KEEP TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES COOLER THAN THEY OTHERWISE WOULD BE TODAY BUT WE WILL STILL SEE HIGHS IN THE UPPER 90S TO 105 DEGREES. AS A WEAK DISTURBANCE SLIDES ACROSS OKLAHOMA TODAY...WE WILL SEE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES. THUS HAVE PLACED 20 PERCENT POPS NORTHEAST OF A BOWIE...MCKINNEY...CANTON LINE. HOT AND GENERALLY DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK THROUGH THE EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK. CAN NOT TOTALLY RULE OUT SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE EAST...BUT CHANCES ARE NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO MENTION AT THIS TIME. WE WILL LIKELY SEE SOME ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR THE REST OF THE WORK WEEK DUE TO THE HOT WEATHER...LOW RELATIVE AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...MODERATE WINDS AND DRY FUELS. 58 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 103 82 104 80 104 / 10 5 5 5 5 WACO, TX 104 79 104 78 104 / 5 5 5 5 0 PARIS, TX 101 76 102 78 102 / 20 5 10 10 10 DENTON, TX 101 79 102 78 103 / 10 5 5 5 0 MCKINNEY, TX 102 78 102 77 102 / 10 5 5 5 5 DALLAS, TX 103 83 104 81 104 / 10 5 5 5 5 TERRELL, TX 103 77 102 78 103 / 10 5 10 5 5 CORSICANA, TX 103 78 102 78 103 / 5 5 5 5 5 TEMPLE, TX 103 76 101 77 102 / 5 5 5 5 0 MINERAL WELLS, TX 104 78 104 76 105 / 10 5 5 0 0 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && /
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 719 AM CDT TUE AUG 16 2011 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-171145- MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-FANNIN-LAMAR-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN- HUNT-DELTA-HOPKINS-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS- ROCKWALL-KAUFMAN-VAN ZANDT-RAINS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL- JOHNSON-ELLIS-HENDERSON-COMANCHE-MILLS-HAMILTON-BOSQUE-HILL-NAVARRO- FREESTONE-ANDERSON-LAMPASAS-CORYELL-BELL-MCLENNAN-FALLS-LIMESTONE- LEON-MILAM-ROBERTSON- 719 AM CDT TUE AUG 16 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE NORTH OF A BOWIE TO DENTON TO CANTON LINE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BECOME ELEVATED MID TO LATE WEEK DUE TO THE LONG TERM DROUGHT AND THE RETURN OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A grass fire damaged a group of vacant manufactured homes off Jimmy Lane in Combine. One home was destroyed and five others were badly damaged. Only one of the homes was occupied at the time. A few vehicles and some sheds were also burned in the fire.
A half acre grass fire near FM 979 in Calvert burned two abandoned houses.
A small fire near Hemphill Street and Loop 820 in southern Tarrant County burned a few bales of hay.
The Penial Fire burned in the northwest side of Greenville, inside an area contained by US 69 to the west, Dell St to the north, Reese St to the east, and Lee Street to the south. The fire started on the afternoon of the 18th and was controlled on the afternoon of the 21st. It burned a total of 250 acres including 2 large barns, 2 small outbuildings, and 3 cars. This fire was one of about a dozen grass fires that occurred in the Greenville area on this afternoon. All the other grass fires burned smaller acreage, but a few storage sheds were burned in the other fires.
A small 2-acre grass fire near CRs 917 and 918 burned 62 round bales of hay. This fire was located just east of Cresson and was started by an electrical line. One firefighter had to be transported for heat exhaustion.
The Mustang Fire in Johnson County burned 336 acres, but burned 3 homes and a barn. Two of the homes were destroyed and the third one was damaged. The fire began on the 18th approximately 4 miles northeast of Godley along CR 912, and was controlled on the 20th. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.
The Boat Fire began approximately 3.5 miles southeast of Celeste near CR 1040 and CR 1037. The fire began on the 18th and was controlled on the 21st. The fire burned approximately 100 acres and burned into a boat junk yard. Approximately 25 unused junk boats and many old vehicle tires burned in the fire.
A fire that broke out on Dick Price Road near Rendon consumed three houses. The embers from this fire started another fire that burned a fourth home on Swiney Hiett Road in Kennedale, and then the fire damaged a warehouse and two unoccupied trailer homes on Eden Road.
Fire #338/Mackie Ranch Fire burned approximately 25 acres, but burned one outbuilding. The fire burned near FM 637 approximately 2 miles to the northeast of Mildred. The cause of the fire was electrical.
The Robinette Fire started 11 miles north-northwest of Killeen on the Fort Hood military base. It started near the East Range Road impact area and burned 6180 acres. The fire began on the 20th, was contained on the 22nd, but was not fully controlled until October 11th.
The Pilot Knob fire burned 1500 acres on the Fort Hood military base. This fire was also located on the firing range, approximately 6 miles away from the Robinette Fire, and was started by training exercises on the range. The fire began on the 20th, was contained on the 22nd, but was not fully controlled until October 11th.
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, August 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: 343527, 343630, 343638, 342888, 343606, 342874, 342898, 342910, 342902, 342309, 342935.