Drought conditions continued to plaque much of North Texas during the month of May. The hardest hit areas were the western-most counties where the least amounts or rain occurred.
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.
Drought conditions continued to plaque much of North Texas during the month of May. The hardest hit areas were the western-most counties where the least amounts or rain occurred. A few of the northeastern counties recovered in April, only to slide back into a moderate drought due to below average May precipitation.
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 May 13, 10:33 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1133 PM CDT MON MAY 13 2013 .AVIATION... CONCERNS...MVFR CIGS AT KDFW IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST. ALL TAF SITES WILL REMAIN VFR WITH SOUTHERLY WINDS 7-16KT THROUGH 15/06Z. EXTENDED....WE ARE EXPECTING MVFR CIGS /BKN-OVC AROUND 2000 FEET/ TO SPREAD NORTHWARD OVER ALL TAF SITES AFTER 15/08Z AND PREVAIL THROUGH MID MORNING WEDNESDAY. 75 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 358 PM CDT MON MAY 13 2013/ SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE RETURNING GULF MOISTURE TO THE REGION. DESPITE TEMPERATURES WELL INTO THE 80S...DEW POINTS ALONG THE I-35 CORRIDOR HAVE MANAGED TO CLIMB TO NEAR 50 DEGREES. IN WESTERN ZONES...WHERE MIXING DEPTHS HAVE APPROACHED 10KFT...SURFACE MOISTURE REMAINS SCANT. IN THE FAR WEST...WHERE THE DROUGHT REMAINS THE MOST INTENSE...A BIT OF A WESTERLY COMPONENT TO THE SURFACE WINDS HAS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO REACH THE 90S AT BRECKENRIDGE AND GRAHAM. MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT AND INTO TUESDAY AS THE CUT-OFF LOW TO OUR WEST BEGINS TO EJECT. CURRENT WATER VAPOR SHOWS THAT THE BLOCKING RIDGE ACROSS THE WESTERN STATES IS LOSING AMPLITUDE...WHICH WILL ALLOW THE CUT-OFF TO RE-JOIN THE POLAR FLOW. ALTHOUGH THERE IS TYPICALLY CONSIDERABLE DISPARITY AMONG GUIDANCE WITH THE EVOLUTION OF AN EJECTING CUT-OFF...OPERATIONAL SOLUTIONS (AND THEIR ENSEMBLE MEMBERS) HAVE MINIMAL SPREAD. HOWEVER...THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES WITH ITS FINAL EXIT OUT OF TEXAS HAVE LED TO A STRIKING SPREAD AMONG GUIDANCE QPF. INTER-OFFICE CONSENSUS FAVORS A MORE PROGRESSIVE EVOLUTION...WHICH SHOULD RESULT IN A SHORTER DURATION RAIN EVENT AND LOWER RAINFALL TOTALS OVERALL. OUR FORECAST MEDIAN STORM TOTALS ARE UNDER 1/2 INCH... BUT AS WITH CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY...AMOUNTS WILL VARY CONSIDERABLY. THE MAIN EVENT WILL BE DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY. THE INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND ANY ONGOING NOCTURNAL CONVECTION EARLY WEDNESDAY MAY LIMIT SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY...BUT STILL ANTICIPATE SOME AREAS WILL SEE MLCAPE VALUES REACH 2000 J/KG...PRIMARILY WEST. CONVECTIVE CELLS WILL ENCOUNTER FAVORABLE MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES WITH SYNOPTIC-SCALE FORCING...BUT EXPECT WEAK FLOW ALOFT WILL LIMIT THE DURATION (AND THUS INTENSITY) OF INDIVIDUAL UPDRAFTS. NONETHELESS...A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME BRIEFLY SEVERE...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. WITHOUT ANY SURFACE FOCUS...THE EVOLUTION OF DEVELOPMENT WILL BE GOVERNED BY THE UPPER FORCING AS IT SPREADS FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST LATE TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. A BRIEF PERIOD OF RIDGING ALOFT WILL DOMINATE LATE IN THE WEEK... BUT THE NEXT TROUGH WILL QUICKLY SWING THROUGH THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. IN RESPONSE TO THE INCREASING FLOW ABOVE THE HIGH PLAINS... LEE TROUGHING IN THE LOW-LEVELS WILL HELP DEVELOP A DRYLINE ACROSS WEST TEXAS AS EARLY AS SATURDAY. THE ECMWF CONTINUES TO BE BULLISH WITH THE DRYLINE CONVECTION SATURDAY AFTERNOON...IMPACTING OUR WESTERN ZONES. CONSIDERING THE FLOW ALOFT...THINK THE ECMWF PLACEMENT OF THE DRYLINE IS A BIT TOO FAR EAST BUT WILL MAINTAIN SOME SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS FAR WESTERN ZONES FOR ANY STORMS THAT MIGHT MOVE NORTHEAST INTO OUR CWA. A COLD FRONT MAY IMPINGE ON THE CWA SUNDAY...AS ITS ASSOCIATED TROUGH SWINGS PAST TO OUR NORTH. HAVE MAINTAINED SOME LOW END POPS FOR THIS EVENT. DOWNGLIDE IN NORTHWEST FLOW WILL ENSUE SUNDAY NIGHT. THE GFS IS INCLINED TO SURGE THE FRONT DEEP INTO THE CWA AT THAT POINT. BUT EVEN WITH NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...WEAK LATE SEASON COLD FRONTS CAN HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME GETTING INTO NORTH TEXAS. WITH A WELL MODIFIED AIR MASS BEHIND IT...EXPECT THE BOUNDARY WILL HANG UP NORTHWEST OF THE CWA. REGARDLESS...THE PREVAILING NORTHWEST FLOW COULD YIELD MULTIPLE DAYS WITH NOCTURNAL MCS ACTIVITY CLIPPING OUR NORTHEAST COUNTIES AROUND DAYBREAK. 25 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 61 86 66 80 66 / 0 5 40 50 30 WACO, TX 59 85 65 80 67 / 5 10 40 50 20 PARIS, TX 58 84 60 75 61 / 0 5 20 50 40 DENTON, TX 60 85 66 80 66 / 0 5 30 50 40 MCKINNEY, TX 57 84 64 78 64 / 0 5 30 50 40 DALLAS, TX 63 86 66 79 66 / 0 5 40 50 30 TERRELL, TX 58 83 63 77 63 / 0 5 30 50 40 CORSICANA, TX 59 83 63 78 64 / 0 5 30 50 30 TEMPLE, TX 58 83 65 79 66 / 5 20 40 50 20 MINERAL WELLS, TX 58 85 64 82 66 / 0 5 40 40 20 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 75/
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 258 PM CDT MON MAY 13 2013 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-141200- 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- 258 PM CDT MON MAY 13 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL INCREASE ACROSS NORTH TEXAS LATE TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT...THEN CONTINUE WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20 ON THURSDAY. THOUGH WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED...A FEW STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG OR BRIEFLY SEVERE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WEST OF INTERSTATE 35. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL RETURN ACROSS FAR WESTERN NORTH TEXAS LATE SATURDAY...THEN ACROSS ALL OF NORTH TEXAS LATE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. .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.
D2/severe drought conditions developed over Rockwall County by the 14th of May. Beneficial rains during the second half of the month allowed conditions to improve to d1/moderate severity by May 28, with these conditions continuing through the end of the month.
D2/severe drought conditions developed over Kaufman County by the 14th of May. Beneficial rains during the second half of the month allowed conditions to improve to d1/moderate severity by May 28, with these conditions continuing through the end of the month.
D2/severe drought conditions developed over the western half of Rains County by the 14th of May. Beneficial rains during the second half of the month allowed conditions to improve to d1/moderate severity over all of Rains County by May 28, with these conditions continuing through the end of the month.
D2/severe drought conditions developed over the northwestern corner of Van Zandt County by the 14th of May. Beneficial rains during the second half of the month allowed conditions to improve to d1/moderate severity over all of the county by May 28, with these conditions continuing through the end of the month.
D2/severe drought conditions developed over Hunt County by the 14th of May. Beneficial rains during the second half of the month allowed conditions to improve to d1/moderate severity by May 28, with these conditions continuing through the end 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, May 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: 447491, 447493, 447494, 447495, 451325.