Very few rainfall events occurred during the month of December over northern Texas. This allowed drought conditions to persist or even worsen in some areas.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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 OUN wrote it up.
Very few rainfall events occurred during the month of December over northern Texas. This allowed drought conditions to persist or even worsen in some areas.
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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 10:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 1045 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012 .AVIATION... STRATUS AND GOD IS DEVELOPING ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING. ON ONE HAND... THE MODEL GUIDANCE IS A BIT MORE OPTIMISTIC WITH SOME OF THE WESTERN SITES REMAINING VFR. HOWEVER... WITH THE CURRENT MOISTURE ADVECTION STILL BELIEVE THAT SOME LOWER CIGS AND VSBYS ARE POSSIBLE BEFORE WINDS VEER AROUND AT THE WESTERN SITES AND BRING DRIER AIR. AND ALTHOUGH NOT A TAF SITE... KAVK IS ALREADY DOWN TO 2 1/2 SM IN NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA. THE TIMING OF THE BIG INCREASE IN MOISTURE ADVECTION VS THE EXPECTED VEERING WINDS EARLY SATURDAY MORNING WILL BE CLOSE AT KCSM AND KHBR. HAVE MADE THE TAFS A BIT MORE PESSIMISTIC THAN THE MODEL GUIDANCE IN GENERAL GIVEN THE CURRENT TRENDS... BUT MAYBE A TOUCH MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN THE 00Z TAFS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1010 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012/ UPDATE... SOUTH WINDS CONTINUE TO RESULT IN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ADVECTION LATE THIS EVENING. SOME STRATUS HAS DEVELOPED EAST OF I35 TONIGHT. TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS WERE ADJUSTED SLIGHTLY UPWARD TO ACCOUNT FOR CURRENT TRENDS. PATCHY FOG WILL LIKELY DEVELOP CLOSER TO SUNRISE HAS WIND SPEEDS DROP OFF A BIT...BUT SOME PASSING CIRRUS MAY INHIBIT RADIATIONAL COOLING AFFECTS. THEREFORE...DENSE FOG APPEARS UNLIKELY AT THIS TIME ALTHOUGH AREAS OF FOG CANNOT BE RULED OUT ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN AND SOUTHEASTERN OK WHERE SFC WIND SPEEDS MAY BRIEFLY DECREASE TO BELOW 10 KT BEFORE SUNRISE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... OKLAHOMA CITY OK 56 74 52 77 / 0 0 0 0 HOBART OK 48 75 43 76 / 0 0 0 0 WICHITA FALLS TX 55 80 55 79 / 0 0 0 0 GAGE OK 36 76 38 75 / 0 0 0 0 PONCA CITY OK 54 72 47 76 / 0 0 0 0 DURANT OK 58 76 60 78 / 0 10 10 10 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...NONE. TX...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1020 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-020430-
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE-
ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM-
WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND-
POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN-
COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON-
CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER-
WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
1020 PM CST FRI NOV 30 2012
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED.
DISCUSSION...
ALTHOUGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE HAS INCREASED ACROSS THE REGION
TONIGHT...THERE ARE NO FEATURES AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT
LIFT FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.
PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CST SATURDAY DEC 1.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...ZERO PERCENT.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
PATCHY FOG WILL DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY TOMORROW
MORNING. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR LOW LYING FOG.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW APPROACHING FROM THE WEST WILL FORCE A COLD
FRONT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
TUESDAY MORNING. IN RESPONSE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH EASTERN
AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS. SEVERE STORMS ARE
NOT EXPECTED.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
THE COMBINATION OF EXTREME TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT...NEAR RECORD
HIGH TEMPERATURES...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...AND INCREASED WINDS
FROM 15 TO 25 MPH WILL RESULT IN NEAR CRITICAL TO CRITICAL FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY ACROSS PORTIONS OF
WESTERN OKLAHOMA.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED BY
5 AM SATURDAY.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
D1 (moderate) drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month in Archer County, but had worsened to D3 (extreme) drought by the end of the month.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions continued across Baylor County with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions continued across Clay County with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions continued across Foard County with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions continued across Hardeman County with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions continued across Knox County with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month in Wichita County, but had worsened to D4 (exceptional) drought by the end of the month.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month in Wilbarger County, but had worsened to D4 (exceptional) drought by the end of the month.
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, December 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: 419643, 419646, 419647, 419648, 419649, 419650, 419651, 419652.