Plenty of fuels, extremely dry and hot weather and breezy south winds produced near critical fire weather conditions in early August. As a result of these weather conditions, a few smaller size wildfires erupted across West Central Texas.
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.
Plenty of fuels, extremely dry and hot weather and breezy south winds produced near critical fire weather conditions in early August. As a result of these weather conditions, a few smaller size wildfires erupted across 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 Aug 3, 12:10 PM CST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 110 PM CDT WED AUG 3 2011 .DISCUSSION... SEE 18Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. && .AVIATION... VFR TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE TERMINALS THE NEXT 24 HOURS. COULD SEE AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM AT JUST ABOUT ANY TAF SITE LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING...BUT DUE TO LIMITED COVERAGE WILL ONLY INCLUDE CB GROUPS OVER THE TERMINALS AFTER 21Z. ANY CONVECTION THAT MANGES TO DEVELOP WILL QUICKLY DISSIPATE AFTER SUNSET. WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 640 AM CDT WED AUG 3 2011/ DISCUSSION... SEE 12Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. AVIATION... EXPECTING VFR CONDITIONS OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. LIGHT SOUTH WINDS THIS MORNING WILL INCREASE AND TURN MORE SOUTHEASTERLY AROUND 18Z TODAY. WE WILL SEE SOME SCATTERED CLOUDS AT AROUND 10 THSD FEET DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...BUT NOT EXPECTING ANY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL AGAIN DECREASE AFTER 00Z TONIGHT. 20 PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 335 AM CDT WED AUG 3 2011/ SHORT TERM... TEMPERATURES WERE A FEW DEGREES WARMER AREA WIDE ON TUESDAY REACHING INTO THE 102-107 DEGREE RANGE. THIS WAS DUE TO SLIGHTLY DRIER SURFACE DEW POINT VALUES...WHICH ACTUALLY DROPPED INTO THE UPPER 40S ACROSS WESTERN AREAS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SIMILAR CONDITIONS TODAY WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND DEWPOINT VALUES DROPPING AT LEAST INTO THE LOWER 50S FOR WESTERN AREAS WILL ALLOW ANOTHER VERY HOT DAY AND SIMILAR TEMPERATURES. RECORD HIGHS AT ABILENE AND SAN ANGELO ARE 111 FOR BOTH SITES...AND WE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO APPROACH THESE NUMBERS TODAY. WILL GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE THE HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS WITH EXPECTED HOT TEMPERATURES. HOWEVER...WILL NOT EXTEND THE HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT AS WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES FALLING INTO THE TEENS...HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 105 HAVE BEEN HARD TO REACH...AND OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE ADVISORY HAVE BEEN FALLING TO LESS THAN 75 DEGREES OVERNIGHT. WE DID SEE A MANAGE TO SEE A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE CONCHO VALLEY AND SOUTHERN BIG COUNTRY AREAS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS TUESDAY. THIS WAS LIKELY DUE TO A SWATH OF SLIGHTLY ELEVATED MID LEVEL MOISTURE MOVING WEST ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. DRIER ARI IS MOVING IN FROM THE EAST IN THE MID LEVELS TODAY...AND THIS WILL LIMIT OUR CHANCES FOR ANY ISOLATED CONVECTION FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THEREFORE WILL GO WITH A DRY FORECAST FOR TODAY ACROSS THE AREA. 20 LONG TERM... THE CANTANKEROUS SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO BAKE THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. H5 HEIGHTS ARE PROGGED TO REMAIN IN THE VICINITY OF 595 DAM THROUGH SATURDAY WITH THE ANTICYCLONE ANCHORED OVER NORTH TX. WE WILL REMAIN UNDER DEEP EASTERLY FLOW BUT IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT WE WILL SEE ANY SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION WITH ANY TROPICAL FEATURES DURING THIS FORECAST PERIOD. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE 100 DEGREES AREAWIDE...WITH MANY LOCATIONS NEAR OR JUST ABOVE 105 DEGREES THROUGH SATURDAY. I HAVE CONTINUED TO FORECAST DEWPOINTS LOWER THAN GUIDANCE PER SUMMER TRENDS LIKELY BASED ON THE LACK OF SOIL MOISTURE. THIS KEEPS HEAT INDICES AT OR UNDER 105 DEGREES DURING THE AFTERNOON. THIS WILL RESULT IN MARGINAL HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA AT BEST SO THE HEADLINE WILL NOT BE EXTENDED AT THIS TIME. WILL LET THE DAY SHIFT MAKE THAT CALL. BY THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK THE MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW THE RIDGE RETROGRADING TO THE WEST OVER THE SOUTHWEST CONUS. THIS WOULD PROVIDE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS OPENING THE DOOR FOR SOME NOCTURNAL MCS SURPRISES TO OUR NORTH. ANYTHING THAT DEVELOPS WILL VERY LIKELY REMAIN TO OUR NORTH BUT IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THE LOW LEVEL JET IS PROGGED TO INCREASE BY THIS TIME. ANY ACTIVITY IN THE CWA WOULD BE A LONG SHOT AT BEST SO I WILL SAY NO MORE FOR FEAR OF PLANTING FALSE HOPE AND/OR WISHCASTING. NONETHELESS...WE SHOULD SEE MID LEVEL HEIGHTS FALL SLIGHTLY TOWARD THE END OF THE PACKAGE. MAX TEMPS ARE STILL FORECAST 5-7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL BUT THAT IS BETTER THAN 10-12 DEGREES HIGHER. JOHNSON && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 105 79 105 78 103 / 10 10 0 0 0 SAN ANGELO 106 77 105 76 104 / 0 0 0 0 0 JUNCTION 104 75 103 75 102 / 0 0 0 0 0 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: BROWN...CALLAHAN...COLEMAN...HASKELL...JONES...MASON... MCCULLOCH...RUNNELS...SAN SABA...SHACKELFORD...TAYLOR... THROCKMORTON. && 99/99/24
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 543 AM CDT WED AUG 3 2011 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-041045- 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- 543 AM CDT WED AUG 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HEAT ADVISORY CONTINUES THROUGH THIS EVENING ROUGHLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM HASKELL...TO BALLINGER...TO MASON. HEAT INDEX VALUES AROUND 105 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAS ARE ADVISED TO DRINK PLENTY OF WATER... TAKE AS MANY BREAKS AS POSSIBLE IF WORKING OUTSIDE...AND REMAIN ALERT FOR SIGNS OF HEAT- RELATED ILLNESS IN THEMSELVES AND THOSE AROUND THEM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Whitehead Fire located near the Menard and Concho County Line burned approximately 451 acres. The wildfire threatened two homes but were saved by the fire fighters.
The Wimberly Fire near Wimberly Road and Farm to Market Road 1235 burned 406 acres. The fire burned tall grass 4 miles north of Merkel. Single-engine airtankers from Mineral Wells responded to the blaze.
The CR-3116 Fore was located about 3 miles east of Anson and this fire burned about 300 acres. Some structures were threatened but none were damaged.
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: 341922, 341926, 341928.