A few elevated storms developed ahead of an approaching trough over the northeastern and eastern counties of North Texas. One storm in Lamar County produced penny to half dollar sized hail.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A few elevated storms developed ahead of an approaching trough over the northeastern and eastern counties of North Texas. One storm in Lamar County produced penny to half dollar sized hail.
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 Mar 31, 5:14 AM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 614 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 .AVIATION... THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT CONCERNS THIS MORNING FOR THE AVIATION COMMUNITY. FIRST...A THUNDERSTORM IS PUSHING SOUTH OF THE RED RIVER NEAR FANNIN COUNTY. CURRENTY MOVEMENT OF THIS STORM WILL KEEP IT AWAY FROM TAF SITES AND AM NOT EXPECTING ANY ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY TO AFFECT THE TAF SITES. VISIBILITIES HAVE DROPPED INTO MVFR CATEGORIES FOR MOST OF THE SITES...WITH PATCHY IFR VISIBILITIES TO THE WEST. VISIBILITIES WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN MVFR...BUT WE COULD SEE IFR BRIEFLY... ESPECIALLY IN WACO. THERE IS A SWATH OF IFR CIGS IN CENTRAL TEXAS MOVING NORTH AND CURRENT EXTRAPOLATION BRINGS THESE INTO WACO AROUND 13Z. WILL INCLUDE THESE IFR CIGS FROM 13Z-16Z...AND THEN EXPECT THEM TO LIFT/SCATTER. THIS AFTERNOON SHOULD BE NICE WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES PREVAILING AND LIGHT SOUTHEASTERLY SURFACE WINDS CONTINUING. ANOTHER ROUND OF REDUCED VISIBILITIES/CEILINGS IS LIKELY OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. 85/NH && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 426 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012/ WELL DEFINED UPPER TROUGH AXIS ORIENTED ALONG A LINE FROM CHICAGO TO OKC TO MIDLAND IS DROPPING SOUTHEAST AND WILL PUSH THROUGH THE REGION TODAY. WHILE SURFACE PARCELS ARE STRONGLY CAPPED...A SMALL PLUME OF HIGHER 700-850 MB MOISTURE IS MOVING EASTWARD THROUGH THE RED RIVER VALLEY. THIS MOISTURE WILL COMBINE WITH THE UPPER FORCING TO GENERATE SOME ELEVATED CONVECTION ACROSS THE NORTHEAST ZONES THIS MORNING. STEEP LAPSE RATES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO ELEVATED CAPE VALUES OF 1500 J/KG AND THESE STORMS MAY POSE A HAIL RISK. SINCE THERE IS AN ABSENCE OF 700-850MB MOISTURE OUTSIDE OF THE NORTHEAST ZONES...THE PASSAGE OF THE TROUGH AXIS SHOULD BE INCONSEQUENTIAL AND DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO PREVAIL OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA. WILL NEED TO MENTION SOME PATCHY FOG THROUGH THE MID MORNING HOURS...BUT OTHERWISE GENERALLY SUNNY SKIES ARE EXPECTED TODAY. HIGH TEMPS WILL BE WARMER THAN YESTERDAY DUE TO MORE SUNSHINE AND INCREASING LOW LEVEL THICKNESS VALUES. UPPER LEVEL RIDGING WILL TRANSLATE ACROSS THE PLAINS ON SUNDAY WITH CONTINUED SUBSIDENCE WARMING RESULTING IN 850MB TEMPS OF 20-23C OVER THE CWA. THIS SHOULD SUPPORT HIGH TEMPS IN THE MID 90S IN THE WEST TO UPPER 80S IN THE EAST. MAV MOS IS EVEN WARMER THAN THIS FORECAST INDICATES...BUT IT HAS BEEN RUNNING A WARM BIAS FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS. SINCE SURFACE WINDS STAY SOUTH AND DO NOT GO WESTERLY...WE SHOULD NOT REALIZE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE WARM 850 MB TEMPS AND RECORD HIGHS SHOULD BE SAFE. THE UPPER RIDGE WILL QUICKLY SLIDE OFF TO THE EAST AS THE NEXT TROUGH MOVES INTO THE WESTERN US. MODEL GUIDANCE HAS HAD TROUBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM FOR SEVERAL DAYS...BUT CONFIDENCE IS GROWING THAT AN UPPER LOW SHOULD CLOSE OFF AT THE BASE OF THE TROUGH AND TRACK THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PLAINS MIDWEEK. MODELS HAVE ALL SLOWED DOWN THE SPEED OF THE LOW...BUT STILL DIFFER ON ITS LATITUDE. THE GFS IS THE FARTHEST NORTH WITH A TRACK THROUGH KANSAS WHILE THE CANADIAN HAS A TRACK ALONG THE RED RIVER. THE ECMWF IS PREFERRED AS IT LIES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK. THIS MEANS THE ECMWF BRINGS MORE COOL AIR DOWN AND THE GFS MOS TEMPS LOOK MUCH TOO WARM BEYOND TUESDAY. OUR UNSEASONABLY WARM WEATHER SHOULD COME TO AN END AFTER MONDAY. CONCERNING THE RAIN CHANCES EARLY IN THE WEEK...THE UPPER LOW SHOULD BE IN NEW MEXICO MONDAY AND BEST FORCING WILL NOT ARRIVE UNTIL MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. A DRY LINE WILL BE OVER THE WESTERN ZONES MONDAY AFTERNOON...AND THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THE FORCING WILL REACH FAR ENOUGH EAST FOR CONVECTION TO BREAK OUT MONDAY EVENING OR WAIT UNTIL TUESDAY. RIGHT NOW THERE IS MODEL AGREEMENT IN DYNAMIC LIFTING/EROSION OF THE CAP AFTER SUNSET MONDAY AND CONVECTION ALONG THE DRY LINE MONDAY NIGHT. CAPES WILL LIKELY BE NEAR 3000 J/KG AND SUPPORT SOME THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER. SINCE THE UPPER LOW IS SO FAR WEST...THE MID-UPPER LEVEL SPEED MAX WILL LAG BEHIND AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR IS ON THE LOW END OF THE SPECTRUM FOR SUPERCELL ORGANIZATION. ALSO WINDS ABOVE 500MB ARE NOTABLY WEAK...SUGGESTING CELLS WILL HAVE TROUBLE EVACUATING PRECIPITATION AWAY FROM THE MAIN UPDRAFT. SOME BRIEF HP SUPERCELLS MAY BE POSSIBLE EARLY MONDAY EVENING...BUT BY IN LARGE THE SETUP FAVORS MULTICELL CLUSTERS/LINES WITH HAIL/WIND THE PRIMARY THREAT. AS LONG AS VIGOROUS CONVECTION INDEED DEVELOPS MONDAY NIGHT...THIS WOULD PUSH EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE CWA BY TUESDAY MORNING AND EFFECTIVELY END CHANCES FOR MORE STORMS TUESDAY EVEN IF THE FRONT/DRY LINE HAVE NOT YET PUSHED THROUGH THE CWA. IF THE CONVECTIVE EVENT ON MONDAY NIGHT IS LIMITED AND UNORGANIZED...THEN THE STORM EVENT MAY END UP BEING TUESDAY AND FOR LOCATIONS PRIMARILY EAST OF I-35. WILL FAVOR THE WIDESPREAD MONDAY NIGHT CONVECTIVE SCENARIO NOW...BUT HEDGE THE FORECAST BY INCREASING POPS TO 20-30 PERCENT ON TUESDAY. TR.92 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 86 67 90 67 86 / 5 0 0 5 20 WACO, TX 87 66 89 67 84 / 5 0 0 5 10 PARIS, TX 84 65 87 64 84 / 20 5 0 5 10 DENTON, TX 84 66 91 68 85 / 5 0 0 5 20 MCKINNEY, TX 83 63 88 67 85 / 10 0 0 5 10 DALLAS, TX 86 67 89 67 86 / 10 0 0 5 10 TERRELL, TX 84 66 88 67 83 / 10 5 0 5 10 CORSICANA, TX 86 66 87 67 82 / 10 5 0 5 10 TEMPLE, TX 88 65 89 67 85 / 5 0 0 5 10 MINERAL WELLS, TX 89 63 94 65 87 / 0 0 0 5 20 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 85/85
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 537 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-011045- 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- 537 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS MORNING NORTH OF A SHERMAN TO EMORY LINE. LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARD WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING ACROSS ALL OF NORTH TEXAS. THE BEST CHANCES WILL BE MONDAY EVENING AND SOME STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THIS TIME FRAME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE NORTH OF A SHERMAN TO EMORY LINE THIS MORNING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
612 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012
TXZ094-311145-
FANNIN TX-
612 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...
NORTHERN FANNIN COUNTY
AT 611 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 11 MILES NORTH OF BONHAM...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
25 MPH.
CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE DODD CITY AND HONEY GROVE.
PENNY-SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THIS
STORM.
IF THIS STORM INTENSIFIES...A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING MAY BE NEEDED.
LAT...LON 3386 9587 3385 9585 3367 9585 3353 9592
3358 9618 3369 9633 3377 9630 3376 9619
3380 9616 3381 9618 3384 9615 3385 9601
3388 9598 3387 9595 3389 9592
TIME...MOT...LOC 1111Z 292DEG 21KT 3375 9619SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
711 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012
TXZ095-311245-
LAMAR TX-
711 AM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...
SOUTHWESTERN LAMAR COUNTY
AT 711 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 17 MILES WEST OF PARIS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30
MPH.
PENNY-SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THIS
STORM.
THIS STORM WILL AFFECT THE COMMUNITY OF ROXTON AROUND 730 AM.
IF THIS STORM INTENSIFIES...A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING MAY BE NEEDED.
LAT...LON 3371 9567 3348 9536 3347 9560 3348 9560
3347 9568 3349 9578 3346 9582 3346 9585
3347 9586 3373 9585
TIME...MOT...LOC 1211Z 298DEG 24KT 3361 9583The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 182 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:48 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail stones ranging from the size of pennies to half dollars were reported in the town of Roxton for several minutes.
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: 366843.