A strong ridge of high pressure lead to increasing temperatures and a long period of very dry weather. This caused drought conditions to worsen considerably across western north Texas.
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.
A strong ridge of high pressure lead to increasing temperatures and a long period of very dry weather. This caused drought conditions to worsen considerably across western north 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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 11:42 PM CST, 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1055 PM CDT SUN JUL 29 2012
.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 610 PM CDT SUN JUL 29 2012/
.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH PERIOD.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 303 PM CDT SUN JUL 29 2012/
.DISCUSSION...
SUBSTANTIAL HEAT WAVE WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEK.
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME SIGNALS THAT A FEW STORMS COULD AFFECT FAR
NORTH-CENTRAL AND PERHAPS SOUTHEAST PARTS OF THE NWS NORMAN COUNTY
WARNING AREA...FORECAST WILL REMAIN DRY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. GFS
QUITE AGGRESSIVE WITH SURGING WEAK FRONT INTO NORTHERN OKLAHOMA
LATE TOMORROW AND EARLY TUESDAY...THEN FLIRT WITH NORTHERN PARTS
OF THE STATE MUCH OF THE WEEK. WRF LEAST AGGRESSIVE WITH SOUTHERN
EXTEND OF FRONT AND/OR CONVECTIVE OUTFLOWS...WITH THE ECM
INBETWEEN. IF STORMS HAPPEN TO AFFECT AREAS FROM AROUND PNC-SWO
TO DUA...IMPACTS WILL BE MINIMAL AS FAR AS HEAT GOES.
ALTHOUGH MID-UPPER HEIGHTS DECREASE THROUGH THE WEEK...LOW-LEVEL
DRY AND VEERED FLOW EACH DAY WILL ALLOW HIGH TEMPS TO STAY WELL
INTO THE 100S THROUGH THE WEEK. PEAK IN TEMPS FORECAST TO OCCUR
AROUND MIDWEEK /TUE-WED/...AHEAD OF MENTIONED FRONTAL BOUNDARY.
ALTHOUGH WE THINK IT WILL BE HARD FOR FRONT TO MAKE MAJOR IMPACTS
TO THE FORECAST AREA...WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP A SLIGHT DECREASE
IN TEMPS LATE IN THE WEEK AS CONSENSUS MODEL FORECAST SHIFTS
WINDS TO MORE SOUTHERLY INSTEAD OF SWLY. WE WILL EXTEND THE HEAT
ADVISORY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. AS FAR AS THE EXCESSIVE HEAT
WARNING... MODELS AND RECENT T/HI TRENDS WOULD INDICATE THAT
DEWPOINTS STAY UNDER CONTROL AND MOST IF NOT ALL HEAT INDICES WILL
BE AT OR BELOW DRY-BULB TEMPS. EVEN THOUGH OUR EXCESSIVE HEAT
WARNINGS ARE PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY HUMID CONDITIONS...WE WILL LEAVE
THE CURRENT WARNING GOING WITH FORECAST TEMPS NEAR 110 ACROSS
NORTHERN OKLAHOMA. WILL NOT EXTEND THE WARNING WITH LOW HUMIDITY
VALUES AND CURRENT HI FORECASTS.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
OKLAHOMA CITY OK 77 106 78 107 / 0 0 0 0
HOBART OK 76 106 77 106 / 0 0 0 0
WICHITA FALLS TX 76 108 77 107 / 0 0 0 0
GAGE OK 73 107 74 106 / 0 0 0 0
PONCA CITY OK 79 109 80 107 / 0 10 10 10
DURANT OK 74 104 75 105 / 0 0 0 0
&&
.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR OKZ004-005-009>011-
014>019-021>048-050>052.
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FROM 7 AM TO 7 PM CDT MONDAY FOR
OKZ006>008-012-013-020.
HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM CDT MONDAY FOR OKZ006>008-012-013-020.
HEAT ADVISORY FROM 7 PM MONDAY TO 10 PM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR
OKZ006>008-012-013-020.
TX...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR TXZ083>090.
&&
25/11HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1140 PM CDT SAT JUN 30 2012
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-011700-
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-
1140 PM CDT SAT JUN 30 2012
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...OVERNIGHT...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS
NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA OVERNIGHT.
DISCUSSION...
SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN
KANSAS WILL BUILD SOUTHWARD ACROSS PART OF THE OKLAHOMA AND
TEXAS PANHANDLES OVERNIGHT. WIDELY SCATTERED STORMS MAY
SKIRT NORTHWEST AND PERHAPS WEST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. WIND GUSTS
OF 40 TO 50 MPH MAY OCCUR WITH THE STORMS. A GRADUAL DECREASE
IN THUNDERSTORM INTENSITY IS EXPECTED DURING THE OVERNIGHT.
PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT SUNDAY JUL 1.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...50 PERCENT.
PROBABILITY OF SEVERE STORMS IF STORMS OCCUR...30 PERCENT.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA MONDAY
AS AN UPPER DISTURBANCE APPROACHES SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA FROM
EASTERN TEXAS.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
WHILE HEAT INDICES WILL REMAIN BELOW HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA...
VERY HOT CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH LATE NEXT WEEK. TAKE THE
NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY DURING
THIS PERIOD OF HOT WEATHER.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED BY
5 AM CDT SUNDAY MORNING.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
D2 (severe) drought conditions continued through the month with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month, but D3 (extreme) drought developed by the end of the month with persistent dry conditions.
Moderate drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month, but D2 (severe) drought developed by the end of the month with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought continued through the month with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month, but D3 (extreme) drought developed by the end of the month with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought continued through the month with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month, but D3 (extreme) drought developed by the end of the month with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions were present at the beginning of the month, but D3 (extreme) drought developed by the end of the month with persistent dry conditions.
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, 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: 397125, 397126, 397128, 397129, 397130, 397131, 397132, 397133.