Extremely dry conditions and drought conditions helped in the development of and spread of multiple wildfires across the Missouri Ozarks.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 SGF wrote it up.
Extremely dry conditions and drought conditions helped in the development of and spread of multiple wildfires across the Missouri Ozarks.
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 Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 17, 11:36 AM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 1236 PM CDT TUE JUL 17 2012 ...UPDATE TO AVIATION... .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 300 AM CDT TUE JUL 17 2012/ SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT)... CURRENTLY...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CONUS. SKIES ARE CLEAR THIS MORNING WITH EARLY MORNING TEMPERATURES IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 70S. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY FALL THE NEXT FEW HOURS WITH LOW/MID 70S EXPECTED JUST PRIOR TO SUNRISE. NOT A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF GOOD NEWS FROM THE 00Z SUITE OF MODEL OUTPUT. HIGH TEMPERATURES HAVE COME IN A BIT WARMER THAN PREVIOUSLY FORECAST WITH LITTLE CHANCE FOR RAINFALL. 850MB TEMPS WILL BE CONSISTENTLY IN THE LOW/MID 20S...WHICH CORRELATES WELL TO THE HIGHS IN THE MID/UPPER 90S. GIVEN OUR ANTECEDENT DRY CONDITIONS A FEW DEGREES NEED TO BE ADDED TO THIS. THE MAV CONTINUES TO RUN AROUND FOUR DEGREES TOO COOL WITH HIGHS WHILE THE STRAIGHT MET VALUES HAVE BEEN MORE RELIABLE AT FACE VALUE. ADJUSTING FOR BIASES RESULTS IN HIGHS RANGING FROM THE MID 90S IN SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI TO AROUND 100 DEGREES IN THE OSAGE PLAINS OF EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS...WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MISSOURI. LOW TEMPERATURES LOOK TO BE A BIT WARMER THAN OUR LAST HEAT WAVE GIVEN SLIGHTLY BETTER LOW LEVEL MOISTURE PROFILES. READINGS THE LOW/MID 70S WILL BE COMMON EACH NIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR A FEW SHOWERS AND STORMS ACROSS THE EASTERN OZARKS AND SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI THIS AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES WILL BE NICELY POSITIONED THE 1.7 TO 2.0 INCH RANGE AND SURFACE DEWPOINTS WILL REMAIN A LITTLE HIGHER IN THIS AREA. UNFORTUNATELY...MEAGER MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES WILL RESULT IN A LONG...SKINNY CAPE PROFILE WITH MLCAPE VALUES AROUND 1500 J/KG EACH AFTERNOON. AS A RESULT... NARROW AND ISOLATED UPDRAFTS ARE EXPECTED. WITH LOW LEVEL THETA-E VALUES IN THE LOW 20S KELVIN...DOWNBURST POTENTIAL IS MINIMAL WITH WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH POSSIBLE. GAGAN LONG TERM (FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY)... A WEAK BACK DOOR COLD FRONT MAY MOVE THROUGH THE AREA FRIDAY AFTERNOON. SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP ON FRIDAY BEFORE THIS BOUNDARY DEFUSES OVER THE WEEKEND. THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS REGION WILL SLOWLY EXPAND AND BUILD BACK EASTWARD OVER THE MIDWEST. WENT AHEAD AND TACKED ON A DEGREE OR TWO ABOVE GUIDANCE ON HIGH TEMPERATURES OVER THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE SUMMER TIME RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO BRING MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO THE OZARKS WITH VERY LITTLE RELIEF FROM THE DRY CONDITIONS. GRIFFIN && .AVIATION... /ISSUED 1227 PM CDT TUE JUL 17 2012/ FOR THE 17/1800Z KSGF/KJLN/KBBG TAFS...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE TAF PERIOD WITH STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT. SFC LOW PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL ALLOW SOME MODERATE SW WIND GUSTS TO CONTINUE TO OCCUR THROUGH 18/00Z. DSA && .SGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...NONE. KS...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 116 PM CDT TUE JUL 17 2012 KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>071-077>083-088>098-101>106-181830- BOURBON-CRAWFORD-CHEROKEE-BENTON-MORGAN-MILLER-MARIES-VERNON- ST. CLAIR-HICKORY-CAMDEN-PULASKI-PHELPS-BARTON-CEDAR-POLK-DALLAS- LACLEDE-TEXAS-DENT-JASPER-DADE-GREENE-WEBSTER-WRIGHT-NEWTON- LAWRENCE-CHRISTIAN-DOUGLAS-HOWELL-SHANNON-MCDONALD-BARRY-STONE- TANEY-OZARK-OREGON- 116 PM CDT TUE JUL 17 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI OZARKS AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED... LIMITED LIGHTNING RISK. ELEVATED EXCESSIVE HEAT RISK. ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER RISK. DISCUSSION... A FEW ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EASTERN OZARKS THIS AFTERNOON WITH A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES POSSIBLE. HEAT INDEX VALUES IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 90S ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA. MINIMUM AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AROUND 30 PERCENT AND SUSTAINED WINDS AROUND 15 MPH WILL RESULT IN ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS PORTIONS OF EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS AND FAR WESTERN MISSOURI. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL RANGE FROM 100 TO 105 FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. LIMITED TO ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ON AN AFTERNOON BASIS. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF THE INTERSTATE 44 CORRIDOR ON FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE IN GRAPHICAL FORMAT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/SGF(ALL LOWERCASE) KURTZ
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Farm equipment was to blame for the start of a wildfire near Freistatt. This fire burned approximately 1500 acres. No homes or structures were damaged.
A spark from a welder started a large wildfire north of Monett. This fire was located near County Roads 2210 and 1100 between State Highway H and Highway 60 and burned approximately 400 acres of brush and timberland. No structures were damaged.
Farm equipment started a small brush fire that burned approximately 30 acres near on the northwest side of Pomme de Terre Lake just north of Galmey along County Road 273.|The fire destroyed a 24-foot moving truck and flatbed trailer. No structures were damaged.
Farm equipment caused a spark which started a wildfire near Lamar. This fire burned approximately 200 acres. No homes or structures were damaged.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, July 2012
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: 387115, 387194, 387121, 387110.