At the beginning of the month, only 8 counties in the Fort Worth County Warning Area were classified in severe drought or worse. During the month, up to 9 inches of rain fell on the drought stricken areas which greatly improved conditions.
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 FWD wrote it up.
At the beginning of the month, only 8 counties in the Fort Worth County Warning Area were classified in severe drought or worse. During the month, up to 9 inches of rain fell on the drought stricken areas which greatly improved conditions. By the end of the month, all counties within the CWA were classified below severe drought levels.
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 Feb 29, 11:16 PM CST, 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1116 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012 .AVIATION... MVFR STRATUS HAS FORMED OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN-MOST COUNTIES. FEEL THESE CIGS WILL REMAIN SOUTHEAST OF THE TAF SITES TONIGHT DUE TO THE RATHER WEAK W TO SW LOW LEVEL FLOW...WHICH SHOULD LIMIT THE RETURN OF MOISTURE MUCH FURTHER NORTH. CALM WINDS WILL BECOME SOUTH AT 5-7 KTS OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. WINDS WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 15 KT LATE THURSDAY MORNING AS THE GRADIENT TIGHTENS UP AHEAD OF THE DEVELOPING FRONTAL SYSTEM OVER THE PLAINS. MVFR CLOUDS ARE MORE LIKELY AREA-WIDE THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL HAVE RETURNED BY THEN. 30 && .UPDATE... THE COLD FRONT HAS TEMPORARILY MOVED SOUTHEAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE WIND HAS BECOME LIGHT JUST NORTH OF THE FRONT AND IF SKIES CAN CLEAR OVERNIGHT...SOME FOG SHOULD DEVELOP. IT APPEARS THAT THE BEST CHANCE FOR FOG IS JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE FORECAST AREA WHERE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS MOST ABUNDANT. FOR NOW...WE WILL LEAVE THE PATCHY FOG MENTIONED IN THE SOUTHEAST ZONES OVERNIGHT/ THURSDAY MORNING. THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST IS GOOD SHAPE OVERALL BUT WILL HAVE TO MAKE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO THE CLOUD COVER AND HOURLY TEMPERATURES IN THE SOUTHEAST ZONES BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 317 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012/ BY 3 PM...THE FRONT HAD REACHED THE SOUTHEASTERN EDGE OF THE CWA. LINGERING LIGHT RAIN WILL EXIT THE AREA BEFORE 00Z (6 PM CST)...SO THE TONIGHT PERIOD WILL BEGIN RAIN-FREE. THE BOUNDARY WILL MAKE MINIMAL ADDITIONAL PROGRESS...AND WINDS IN SOUTHEASTERN ZONES WILL GO CALM. AS CLOUD COVER DECREASES...PATCHY FOG WILL LIKELY DEVELOP IN AREAS GENERALLY SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM TEMPLE...TO MEXIA...TO ATHENS. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL QUICKLY RETURN THURSDAY AS THE NEXT FRONT INVADES THE CENTRAL PLAINS. ABUNDANT SUNSHINE WILL PUSH TEMPERATURES INTO THE 80S. DEW POINTS IN THE 60S WILL SURGE INTO NORTH TEXAS LATE THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY NIGHT...WHEN A POTENT LLJ DEVELOPS. THE NEXT FRONT WILL ENTER THE CWA EARLY FRIDAY WITH A FAIR AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY TO WORK WITH...BUT THE ASSOCIATED MID-LEVEL WAVE WILL LAG WELL BEHIND. FOR THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE CWA...THE FRONT WILL INTERACT WITH A CAPPED EARLY-MORNING BOUNDARY LAYER. CURRENT GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THE FRONT WILL BISECT THE CWA SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST AT MIDDAY FRIDAY. A FEW STRONG STORMS COULD DEVELOP FRIDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS SOUTHEAST HALF...BUT WITH VEERING PREFRONTAL WINDS AND CONCERNS ABOUT CAP LINGERING...EVOLUTION BEARS SIMILARITY TO NON-EVENT WE JUST EXPERIENCED. AFTER THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH...SATURDAY WILL BE BREEZY AND COOL...THOUGH SUNNY. A MORE PLEASANT DAY WILL FOLLOW ON SUNDAY... WITH LOW HUMIDITY...LIGHT WINDS...AND AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL UNTIL THE NEXT FRONT ARRIVES THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. 25 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 52 84 59 79 44 / 0 0 10 20 20 WACO, TX 50 80 60 79 44 / 0 0 10 30 30 PARIS, TX 47 81 60 77 43 / 10 10 20 40 40 DENTON, TX 45 83 52 78 41 / 0 0 10 10 10 MCKINNEY, TX 41 81 55 76 39 / 0 0 10 20 20 DALLAS, TX 51 83 59 78 44 / 0 0 10 20 20 TERRELL, TX 48 83 60 77 44 / 10 10 20 40 40 CORSICANA, TX 53 82 61 79 44 / 10 10 20 40 40 TEMPLE, TX 55 80 61 81 42 / 0 0 10 40 40 MINERAL WELLS, TX 44 86 48 78 41 / 0 0 10 10 10 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 30/79
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 255 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-011200- 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- 255 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY EAST OF A GOLDTHWAITE TO DALLAS TO SHERMAN LINE DURING THE DAY FRIDAY. A FEW OF THESE STORMS COULD BE STRONG DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. DUNN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as severe drought (D2) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 6 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at the end of the month.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as severe drought (D2) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 8 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at the end of the month.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as severe drought (D2) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 9 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at the end of the month.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as severe drought (D2) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 5 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at the end of the month.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as severe drought (D2) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 8 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at the end of the month.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as severe drought (D2) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 8 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at the end of the month.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as severe drought (D2) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 8 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at the end of the month.
According to the US Drought Monitor, the county was classified as extreme drought (D3) at the beginning of the month. The county received up to 8 inches of rainfall and was not classified in drought at 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, March 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: 371437, 371438, 371439, 371440, 371441, 371442, 371443, 371444.