With very few rainfall events over northern Texas, drought conditions persisted and/or worsened during the month.
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.
With very few rainfall events over northern Texas, drought conditions persisted and/or worsened during the month.
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 Sep 30, 10:11 PM CST, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 1111 PM CDT SUN SEP 30 2012 .AVIATION... 01/06Z TAFS...FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE FORECAST WE WILL GO WITH VFR CONDITIONS. STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP AFTER 15Z TOMORROW AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION. WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AT MOST LOCATIONS LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY TOMORROW MORNING...ALONG WITH A WET GROUND AND LIGHT WIND...WE WILL GO AHEAD AND FORECAST AT LEAST TEMPO BR-FG AT ALL BUT FAR NORTHERN OKLAHOMA TERMINALS. DRIER AIR AND SOME UNCERTAINTY TO WIND SPEED INCREASE TOWARD DAYBREAK WILL KEEP US FROM ADDING FOG AT KGAG-KWWR-KPNC. CURRENTLY EXPECT STORMS TO STAY NORTH AND WEST OF TERMINALS LATE TONIGHT BUT WILL BE MONITORED CLOSELY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... OKLAHOMA CITY OK 54 81 55 78 / 10 0 10 10 HOBART OK 55 79 54 80 / 10 20 10 10 WICHITA FALLS TX 56 83 57 83 / 10 20 10 10 GAGE OK 52 78 47 81 / 20 20 0 10 PONCA CITY OK 54 82 52 78 / 10 0 10 10 DURANT OK 57 81 58 82 / 10 0 10 10 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...NONE. TX...NONE. && 84/11/11
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
846 PM CDT SUN SEP 30 2012
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-011200-
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-
846 PM CDT SUN SEP 30 2012
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...TONIGHT...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED.
DISCUSSION...
THE UPPER LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WIDESPREAD RAINFALL HAS MOVED EAST
OF THE AREA...PROMPTING AND END TO SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS THE REGION.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TONIGHT CROSS PARTS OF THE TEXAS
AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. THIS ACTIVITY WILL GENERALLY REMAIN WEST OF
OUR AREA...BUT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND STORMS MAY MOVE FAR ENOUGH EAST
TO REACH FAR WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND PERHAPS WESTERN NORTH TEXAS LATE
TONIGHT. WITH VERY LITTLE SURFACE MOISTURE AND WEAK INSTABILITY...
SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED. HOWEVER... BRIEF GUSTY WINDS OF 40
TO 50 MPH...SMALL HAIL...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE
WITH ANY STRONG STORMS THAT MANAGE TO MAKE IT INTO FAR WESTERN PARTS
OF OKLAHOMA AND NORTH TEXAS.
PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT MONDAY OCT 1.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...20 PERCENT.
PROBABILITY OF SEVERE STORMS IF STORMS OCCUR...LESS THAN 5 PERCENT.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY ACROSS PARTS
OF OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS AS A STRONG COLD FRONT SWINGS
THROUGH THE AREA...THEREAFTER...COOL AND DRY FALL LIKE WEATHER IS
EXPECTED.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED BY 5 AM
MONDAY.
KURTZ/AUSTINThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
D1 (moderate) drought conditions continued across Archer County with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions continued across Baylor County with persistent dry conditions.
D1 (moderate) drought conditions continued across Clay County with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions continued across Foard County with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions continued across Hardeman County with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions continued across Knox County with persistent dry conditions.
D2 (severe) drought conditions continued across Wichita County with persistent dry conditions.
D3 (extreme) drought conditions continued across Wilbarger County 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, October 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: 414471, 414472, 414473, 414475, 414476, 414477, 414478, 414479.