A large wildfire swept across Sutton County, south of interstate 10.
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 SJT wrote it up.
A large wildfire swept across Sutton County, south of interstate 10.
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 Mar 26, 11:48 AM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 1248 PM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011 .UPDATE... AN EARLY AFTERNOON SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE BIG COUNTRY WITH A PREFRONTAL TROF/DRYLINE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST ZONES. BETWEEN THESE BOUNDARIES...WE HAVE NORTHWEST WINDS AND VERY DRY AIR WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S. TEMPERATURES REMAIN IN THE MID/UPPER 60S WITH MUCH HIGHER DEWPOINTS BEHIND THE FRONT. TEMPS MAY WARM A BIT MORE ALONG THE INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR BUT THE NORTHERN FRINGES OF THE CWA ARE NOT LIKELY TO WARM MUCH FURTHER. ACROSS THE SOUTH WE SHOULD STILL REALIZE THE UPPER 80S TO NEAR 90 DEGREES. IN ADDITION TO MAX TEMPS...I HAVE UPDATED THE SKY...WIND...AND DEWPOINT GRIDS. THIS WILL BE REFLECTED IN AN AFTERNOON UPDATE. JOHNSON && .AVIATION... GENERALLY CLEAR SKIES WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS WITH NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10-15 KTS AREAWIDE. LOW CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AT KABI...KJCT AND KBBD BY 10Z TONIGHT AND COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT KSJT AS WELL. CIGS HEIGHTS AROUND 1500 FT ARE ANTICIPATED. THESE CEILINGS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPROVE BY 18Z. WIND DIRECTIONS WILL BE PROBLEMATIC ON SUNDAY GIVEN THE PRESENCE OF A FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THIS BOUNDARY IS FORECAST EXTEND FROM NEAR KSWW TO KJCT BY MIDDAY WITH WEST/SOUTHWEST WINDS TO THE WEST OF THE FRONT AND EAST WINDS ON THE COOL SIDE. JOHNSON && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 705 AM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011/ DISCUSSION... SEE 12Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. AVIATION... SCATTERED STRATUS WILL AFFECT THE KBBD AND KJCT TERMINALS THROUGH 14Z. OTHERWISE...EXPECT VFR ALL TERMINALS TODAY WITH LIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS BECOMING WEST TO NORTHWEST 10 TO 15 KT AFTER 15Z. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH ACROSS THE TERMINALS THIS EVENING WITH WINDS BECOMING LIGHT NORTHEASTERLY OVERNIGHT. MODELS SHOW SOME STRATUS DEVELOPING BEHIND THE FRONT LATE TONIGHT WITH BEST CHANCE FOR MVFR CIGS OVER NORTHERN TERMINALS. WILL ADD MVFR CIGS TO KABI FOR NOW AND ONLY MENTION SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS REMAINING TERMINALS AT THIS TIME. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 458 AM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011/ SHORT TERM... AS OF 3 AM...SURFACE OBSERVATIONS SHOW THE DRYLINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR HASKELL TO JUST WEST OF SAN ANGELO...THEN SOUTHWEST TO OZONA. SURFACE LOW PRESSURE JUST WEST OF WICHITA FALLS WILL MOVE EAST ALONG THE RED RIVER TODAY...WITH THE DRYLINE SURGING EAST ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. A COLD FRONT WILL FILTER IN BEHIND THE SURFACE LOW AS IT MOVES EAST THIS AFTERNOON. THE FRONT SHOULD ENTER THE BIG COUNTRY BY MID AFTERNOON...THEN MOVE SLOWLY SOUTH ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA THIS EVENING. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLEST OVER THE BIG COUNTRY WHERE NORTHERLY WIND SHIFT OCCURS SOONEST. HIGHS WILL BE MAINLY IN THE LOW TO MID 80S BUT THROCKMORTON AND HASKELL COUNTIES SHOULD ONLY SEE HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S. THE REST OF THE AREA WILL SEE ANOTHER VERY WARM DAY WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS TOPPING OUT IN THE UPPER 80S TO NEAR 90 DEGREES. CURRENTLY FORECASTING A HIGH OF 90 DEGREES AT SAN ANGELO TODAY...WHICH IS JUST UNDER THE RECORD HIGH OF 91 DEGREES SET BACK IN 2000. MUCH COOLER TONIGHT WITH THE FRONT PUSHING THROUGH BUT GIVEN POSSIBLE STRATUS DEVELOPING BEHIND THE FRONT DID NOT GO AS LOW AS THE MET GUIDANCE IS INDICATING. WENT WITH A MET/MAV BLEND WHICH GIVES LOWS NEAR 40 ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...TO THE MID AND UPPER 40S ELSEWHERE. LONG TERM... ON SUNDAY A SHORTWAVE UPPER TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST ACROSS KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA. STALLED FRONT NEAR THE PECOS RIVER WILL BEGIN TO MOVE NORTHEAST AS A WARM FRONT...AND SHOULD EXTEND FROM NEAR BIG SPRING TO JUST EAST OF SAN ANGELO AND JUNCTION BY LATE AFTERNOON. HAVE SOME UNCERTAINTY ON HOW FAR EAST THIS FRONT WILL PROGRESS ON SUNDAY...AND THIS WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES. AT THIS TIME EXPECT HIGHS TO BE IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY. FARTHER SOUTH THE HIGHS SHOULD RANGE FROM THE LOWER TO MID 70S EAST OF THE FRONT...TO 80-85 WEST OF IT WHERE THE AIRMASS WILL BE WARMER AND LITTLE CLOUD COVER IS EXPECTED. HAVE LEFT THE LOW POP FOR THUNDERSTORM POSSIBILITY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING EAST OF A COLEMAN TO JUNCTION LINE...BUT CONFIDENCE IN DEVELOPMENT IS LOW. STRONGER INSTABILITY WILL DEVELOP MONDAY AS THE WARM FRONT CONTINUES TO LIFT NORTHEAST. THE 00Z GFS HINTS AT POSSIBILITY OF A WEAK EMBEDDED DISTURBANCE ALOFT MOVING INTO TEXAS FROM NORTHERN MEXICO BY MONDAY EVENING. IN ADDITION A DRYLINE SHOULD MIX EAST INTO THE WESTERN BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHWESTERN CONCHO VALLEY. HAVE SLIGHT CHANCE POP FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF OUR CWA LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY MONDAY NIGHT. WITH THE STRONGER INSTABILITY AND FAVORABLE VERTICAL SHEAR A CONDITIONAL THREAT FOR STRONG AND SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE. A VIGOROUS UPSTREAM UPPER TROUGH IS PROGGED TO DROP SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE CENTRAL ROCKIES ON MONDAY AND SWING ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS ON TUESDAY. THIS WILL SEND A COLD FRONT SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON TUESDAY. AFTER A RATHER WARM DAY MONDAY WITH HIGHS 85-90 DEGREES...TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLER TUESDAY... MORE NOTABLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF OUR AREA. THIS FRONT WILL SHUNT THE MOISTURE WELL SOUTH OF OUR AREA TO THE TEXAS COAST. IN THE WAKE OF THIS FRONTAL PASSAGE...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING SOUTH ACROSS EASTERN TEXAS TO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL DELAY THE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE RETURN WEDNESDAY. NEXT UPPER TROUGH IS PROGGED TO DIG SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE ROCKIES ON WEDNESDAY...AND INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND NORTH TEXAS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. DESPITE A VIGOROUS UPPER SYSTEM AND FAIRLY STRONG COLD FRONT...MOISTURE RETURN INTO OUR AREA WILL BE LIMITED. IN ADDITION TO REDUCED INSTABILITY...THIS WILL HAVE A LIMITING EFFECT ON THE CHANCE AND COVERAGE OF CONVECTION IN OUR AREA. THE HIGHER CHANCE LOOKS TO BE ACROSS OUR NORTHEASTERN COUNTIES WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH A LINGERING CHANCE ACROSS OUR EASTERN COUNTIES THURSDAY MORNING. A DRY AND COOLER AIRMASS SETTLES OVER OUR AREA THURSDAY...WITH RETURN FLOW BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER WARMING TREND. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 40 71 51 87 58 / 0 0 10 20 20 SAN ANGELO 44 82 51 90 58 / 0 0 10 20 20 JUNCTION 47 80 54 89 60 / 0 10 20 20 20 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 25
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 549 AM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-271100- 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- 549 AM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ELEVATED FIRE DANGER WILL DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF THE AREA TODAY DUE TO VERY DRY CONDITIONS AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP ALONG A DRYLINE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE HEARTLAND AND NORTHWEST HILL COUNTRY...AND MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING EAST OF A THROCKMORTON TO ABILENE TO SONORA LINE. IF STORMS DEVELOP... THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire burned 2439 acres. Although the fire threatened three homes, one bunkhouse, one large hunting lodge, six recreational vehicles, all of these structures were saved.
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, March 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: 293428.