Two large fires burned in Palo Pinto County during the first half of the month; very near and even over locations that were burned by the massive grass fires in 2011. The Rhodes Ranch II fire began on the 7th and burned nearly 2000 acres before it was controlled on the 21st.
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 FWD wrote it up.
Two large fires burned in Palo Pinto County during the first half of the month; very near and even over locations that were burned by the massive grass fires in 2011. The Rhodes Ranch II fire began on the 7th and burned nearly 2000 acres before it was controlled on the 21st. The Dark Horse Fire began on the 9th and burned approximately 1700 acres before it was controlled on the 21st. The only damage caused by either fire was to a well site by the Dark Horse Fire. In addition, a 3rd and much smaller fire burned some hay bales on the 7th.
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 7, 9:55 AM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1055 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012 .UPDATE... A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS THE FAR WESTERN COUNTIES ALONG A LINE FROM GRAHAM TO ABILENE. LIGHTNING HAS RECENTLY BEEN OBSERVED WITH ONE STORM IN YOUNG COUNTY BUT OTHERWISE...NOT MUCH PRECIPITATION APPEARS TO BE REACHING THE GROUND. ADDITIONAL ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS AND QUARTER SIZED HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS. THE STORM ACTIVITY SHOULD DIMINISH IN THE EVENING HOURS. THE INHERITED FORECAST WAS ON TRACK BUT DID MAKE A FEW MINOR CHANGES TO THE AFTERNOON HIGHS. ALSO...INCREASED DEWPOINTS SOME FOR THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THIS WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDEX VALUES APPROACHING 105 DEGREES LATE THIS AFTERNOON IN SOME LOCATIONS...MAINLY ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 35. HOWEVER...THE TEMPERATURE FORECAST COULD BE AFFECTED BY AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS AND CLOUD COVER. 82/JLD && .AVIATION... MID AND UPPER FLOW WILL REMAIN PREDOMINANTLY OUT OF THE NORTH TODAY AROUND THE EDGE OF AN UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER THE FOUR CORNERS. A WEAK VORT MAX PRODUCING NOCTURNAL CONVECTION OVER OK AND KS IS PROJECTED TO DROP S IN THE FLOW ALOFT AND KICK OFF ISOLATED STORMS LATER TODAY NEAR THE RED RIVER...WITH STORM MOTION BRINGING CELLS SOUTH-SOUTHWEST TOWARDS THE METROPLEX LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. WILL GO AHEAD AND PLACE A VCTS IN DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA TERMINAL FORECASTS FOR THE LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING PERIOD. COVERAGE SHOULD REMAIN FAIRLY LOW AND ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. AT THIS TIME...WILL NOT INCLUDE CB OR VCTS AT KACT BASED ON GUIDANCE KEEPING ACTIVITY MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF NORTH TEXAS TODAY. OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE. WINDS SHOULD BE LIGHT SOUTH BUT OUTFLOW FROM ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP NEARBY WOULD LIKELY PRODUCE A BRIEF PERIOD OF NORTH WINDS. 30 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 341 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012/ WEAK NORTH TO NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL PREVAIL OVER NORTH TEXAS THROUGH EARLY NEXT AS UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS ANCHORED ACROSS THE WESTERN STATES. WEAK LARGE SCALE LIFT COUPLED WITH A MODERATELY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WILL RESULT IN ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH STORMS MOST LIKELY DURING THE HEAT OF THE AFTERNOON. ANY STORM THAT DEVELOPS IN THE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING WILL HAVE A POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS DUE TO DRY AIR BELOW THE HIGH BASED STORMS. PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL DECREASE AS WE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND AS DRIER AIR FILTERS IN BEHIND A COLD FRONT. THE DRY AIR SHOULD LINGER THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURES THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK WILL BE HOT WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS GENERALLY IN THE UPPER 90S TO AROUND 103. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL RANGE FROM THE MID 70S TO NEAR 80. THE MIXING DOWN OF DRIER AIR SHOULD KEEP AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES BELOW 105. THEREFORE...WE WILL NOT ISSUE A NEW HEAT ADVISORY WITH THIS PACKAGE. TEMPERATURES WILL COOL A FEW DEGREES ON THE WEEKEND DUE TO VERY WEAK COLD AIR ADVECTION BEHIND THE EXPECTED COLD FRONT. 79 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 104 80 102 80 100 / 20 20 20 20 20 WACO, TX 104 76 101 77 100 / 20 10 20 20 20 PARIS, TX 100 76 98 74 97 / 20 20 20 20 20 DENTON, TX 104 78 102 77 100 / 20 20 20 20 20 MCKINNEY, TX 103 77 102 77 99 / 20 20 20 20 20 DALLAS, TX 105 82 102 80 101 / 20 20 20 20 20 TERRELL, TX 102 76 100 76 98 / 20 20 20 20 20 CORSICANA, TX 101 77 100 77 100 / 20 10 20 20 20 TEMPLE, TX 101 74 100 74 99 / 20 10 20 20 20 MINERAL WELLS, TX 103 74 101 73 100 / 20 20 20 20 20 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 58/82
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1038 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-081200- 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- 1038 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ALL OF NORTH TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A FEW STORMS COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND 1 INCH HAIL LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. A CHANCE FOR MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS NORTH TEXAS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. GUSTY DOWNBURST WINDS AND LIGHTNING WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE MAIN THREATS EACH DAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... LIMITED SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED BETWEEN 3 PM AND 8 PM.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A spark from a hay baler started a small grass fire on Blue Flat Road near the Erath County line. The fire burned about 5 acres and burned 4-5 bales of hay.
The Rhodes Ranch II fire was started on the Rhodes Ranch property northeast of the city of Palo Pinto. The fire was started by lightning and burned a total of 1,995 acres. No damage was caused by this fire.
The Dark Valley Ranch fire was started off State Highway 254, east of State Highway 16 between Graford and Possum Kingdom Lake. The fire was started by lightning and burned a total of 1,745 acres. The only damage caused by this fire was to a well site.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, August 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: 407137, 407132, 407134.