A few counties were able to avoid severe or greater drought for a good portion August. Inevitably, however, below-average rainfall and above-normal temperatures resulted in severe or greater drought over all north Texas Counties by the end of the month.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
A few counties were able to avoid severe or greater drought for a good portion August. Inevitably, however, below-average rainfall and above-normal temperatures resulted in severe or greater drought over all north Texas Counties by the end of 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 Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 26, 10:52 PM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1152 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2013 .AVIATION... /06Z TAFS/ CONCERNS...CONVECTION AND MVFR CEILINGS. LOW-LEVEL WINDS HAVE VEERED...AND DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL BEGIN SURGING NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT. MVFR CEILINGS WILL INVADE WACO AS EARLY AS 08Z (3AM CDT)...GRADUALLY LIFTING TO VFR BY LATE MORNING. NEW 00Z GUIDANCE IS MUCH MORE BULLISH WITH CEILINGS INTO THE METROPLEX. WITH 06Z TAF PACKAGE...WILL INTRODUCE PREVAILING MVFR CEILINGS AT METRO TAF SITES. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT IS CENTERED OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS...LEAVING NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS IN EASTERLY MID-LEVEL FLOW. THE NORTHERN EXTENT OF THE TROPICAL WAVE RESPONSIBLE FOR FERNAND RESULTED IN WIDESPREAD CONVECTION THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE ON MONDAY. THIS CONVECTION HAS DEEPENED THE DISTURBANCE ALOFT INTO A WELL DEFINED SHORTWAVE...WHICH WILL ROTATE AROUND THE MID-LEVEL RIDGE INTO WEST TEXAS ON TUESDAY. THERE IT WILL COMBINE WITH A WEAK UPPER TROPOSPHERIC LOW...RESULTING IN ANOTHER LARGE AREA OF AFTERNOON CONVECTION. THIS ACTIVITY MAY EXPAND TO REACH AREAS AS FAR EAST AS THE I-35 CORRIDOR. 00Z GUIDANCE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED POPS...BUT WILL REFRAIN FROM INCLUDING MENTION IN THE TAFS AT THIS TIME. REGARDLESS...CONSIDERABLE CLOUDINESS SHOULD IMPACT ALL TAF SITES THROUGHOUT THE DAY ON TUESDAY. THERE MAY BE A SHARP GRADIENT BETWEEN THIS CLOUDINESS AND MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES TO THE NORTHEAST. THE 06Z TAFS WILL KEEP THIS BOUNDARY NORTHEAST OF ALL TAF SITES. 25 && .UPDATE... WILL MAINTAIN SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN/SOUTHWESTERN ZONES AFTER MIDNIGHT WHERE REGION OF HIGHER MOISTURE WILL BE LOCATED. EXPECT PRIMARILY LIGHT SHOWERS...BUT WILL MAINTAIN MENTION OF THUNDER. OTHERWISE JUST SOME SLIGHT CHANGES TO THE HOURLY GRIDS TONIGHT TO ACCOUNT FOR TRENDS. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW IS CURRENTLY LOCATED OVER NORTH TEXAS BUT WILL MOVE NORTHWEST TOMORROW. THIS WILL PUT US ON A FAVORABLE SIDE OF LIFT AS WELL AS PROVIDE THE REGION WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW THAT WILL BRING DEEPER TROPICAL MOISTURE INTO THE REGION. POPS MAY NEED TO BE INCREASED/EXPANDED OVER THE AREA...AND CURRENT FORECAST HIGH TEMPS MAY ALSO BE TOO HIGH TOMORROW. WILL LET MID SHIFT MAKE ANY CHANGES AS THEY WILL HAVE THE 00Z DATA TO LOOK AT...BUT WE WILL SEE IF IT CONFIRMS OUR SUSPICIONS IN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. TR.92 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 200 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2013/ THE STUBBORN UPPER LEVEL HIGH REMAINS CENTERED OVER THE KS/MO BORDER THIS AFTERNOON AND COVERS MOST OF THE CONUS...WHILE TO THE SOUTH...TS FERNAND IS SPREADING CLOUDS AND CONVECTION INTO THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE STATE. THIS TROPICAL MOISTURE AND ASSOCIATED CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD NORTH-NORTHWEST THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS A SHORTWAVE MOVES NORTHWEST INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. WE WILL MAINTAIN POPS UP TO 30 PERCENT FOR SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN CWA THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...WE MIGHT NEED TO ADD ISOLATED POPS FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON IF ANY MESO- SCALE BOUNDARIES LINGER OVER THE WESTERN CWA. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NEAR NORMAL OVER THE WEST/SOUTHWEST CWA TOMORROW...BUT THEN THE ENTIRE AREA WARMS GOING INTO LATE WEEK AS 500MB HEIGHTS AND PARTIAL THICKNESSES PEAK WED-THU. THIS WILL RESULT IN MUCH OF THE CWA SEEING HIGHS OF 100-103 WED-SAT. RIGHT NOW...IT LOOKS LIKE HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA MAY BE MET ACROSS THE DFW METROPLEX ON THURSDAY...BUT WE WILL RE-EVALUATE THE NEED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. 75 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 77 98 77 101 78 / 5 10 5 5 5 WACO, TX 72 95 75 99 76 / 20 30 10 5 5 PARIS, TX 73 97 72 100 75 / 5 5 0 5 0 DENTON, TX 74 97 74 101 75 / 5 10 5 5 5 MCKINNEY, TX 75 97 75 101 78 / 5 10 5 5 5 DALLAS, TX 79 97 80 101 82 / 5 10 5 5 5 TERRELL, TX 75 96 75 102 78 / 5 10 5 5 0 CORSICANA, TX 72 97 74 100 78 / 20 10 5 5 5 TEMPLE, TX 71 94 74 97 74 / 20 30 10 5 5 MINERAL WELLS, TX 72 94 72 99 74 / 5 20 5 5 5 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 25/92
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 240 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2013 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-271200- 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- 240 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. LOW THUNDERSTORMS CHANCES ARE EXPECTED SOUTH OF A CISCO...HILLSBORO... ATHENS LINE. PRIMARY HAZARDS INCLUDE LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. LOW THUNDERSTORM CHANCES CONTINUE ON TUESDAY SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM JACKSBORO...TO CORSICANA...TO CENTERVILLE. LIGHTNING AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. 05/
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Severe/D2 drought conditions developed over Mills County around August 27th and remained in place through the end of the month.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Lampasas County deteriorated from moderate/D1 to severe/D2 drought conditions around August 27. Conditions remained classified as Severe/D2 through the end of the month.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D1/Moderate drought conditions deteriorated to D2/Severe around August 27th. D2/Severe drought conditions remained in place through the end of the month.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Coryell County deteriorated from moderate/D1 to severe/D2 drought conditions around August 27. Conditions remained classified as Severe/D2 through the end of the month.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of Cooke County remained in Moderate/D1 drought status for all of August 2013. The exception occurred over the southeastern quarter of the county, where severe/D2 conditions developed during the final week of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, August 2013
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: 469512, 469517, 469518, 469530, 469533.