Dry weather in the middle part of the month of October allowed for conditions to be ripe for wildfires to begin. Several fires occurred in the western half of north Texas.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Dry weather in the middle part of the month of October allowed for conditions to be ripe for wildfires to begin. Several fires occurred in the western half of north Texas.
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 Oct 14, 11:41 AM CST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1241 PM CDT WED OCT 14 2015 .AVIATION... VFR AT ALL NORTH TEXAS TAF SITES THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH A MOSTLY CLEAR SKY. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. WIND SPEEDS THROUGH TONIGHT WILL BE GENERALLY BELOW 12 KNOTS BUT WILL INCREASE SLIGHTLY LATE THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. 79 && .UPDATE... NO MAJOR CHANGES TO THE CURRENT FORECAST WITH TEMPERATURES CONTINUING TO WARM THROUGH THE LATE MORNING. TEMPERATURES NEAR 90 DEGREES ALREADY ACROSS THE WESTERN COUNTIES AND IT STILL LOOKS LIKE MOST AREAS WILL BE MID TO UPPER 90S LATER THIS AFTERNOON. DUNN && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 335 AM CDT WED OCT 14 2015/ NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN UNDER NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CENTERED TO OUR WEST AND A DEEP TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN CONUS. THE INFLUENCE OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL RESULT IN RECORD TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AND THURSDAY. WACO WILL LIKELY BREAK THEIR RECORD MAX TEMPERATURE FOR TODAY WHILE DFW WILL COME VERY CLOSE TO THEIR DAILY RECORD. SOME AREAS TODAY WILL EVEN BE FLIRTING WITH TRIPLE DIGITS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. ON THURSDAY...THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WEAKENS SOME AND ANTICIPATE TEMPERATURES WILL BE JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW TODAY/S VALUES BUT BOTH WACO AND DFW AGAIN HAVE A CHANCE TO BREAK THEIR DAILY RECORD MAX TEMPERATURES FOR THE 15TH. A FRONT ARRIVES ON FRIDAY TO BRING RELIEF TO THE REGION IN TIME FOR THE WEEKEND. UNFORTUNATELY...NO RAIN IS EXPECTED WITH THIS FRONT BUT THE TEMPERATURE RELIEF WILL BE WELL APPRECIATED. THE RECORD HIGHS AT WACO TODAY AND THURSDAY RESPECTFULLY ARE 93 AND 95. DFW RESPECTFULLY IS 99 AND 92. FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS TODAY ARE ON THE LOWER END DUE TO WIND SPEEDS MOSTLY BELOW 10 MPH BUT THE HOT TEMPERATURES AND VERY DRY AIR WITH HUMIDITIES AROUND 10-15 PERCENT STILL RAISE SOME CONCERNS FOR TODAY. NO STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED FOR TODAY BUT FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS INCREASE TOMORROW. ON THURSDAY...SOUTH WINDS INCREASING TO AROUND 15 MPH WITH HUMIDITY VALUES IN THE TEENS AND VERY WARM TEMPERATURES WILL LEAD TO ELEVATED OR HIGH FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION. CURRENTLY...THE FORECAST CALLS FOR CONDITIONS BELOW CRITERIA FOR A FIRE WEATHER WATCH BUT WE WILL LIKELY COLLABORATE WITH REGIONAL FIRE OFFICIALS TODAY TO FURTHER ASSESS THE NEED FOR A WATCH OR WARNING FOR TOMORROW. AT THIS TIME...ANTICIPATE AT LEAST A GRASS FIRE DANGER STATEMENT FOR ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THURSDAY AFTERNOON. AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED...A DRY FRONT WILL ENTER NORTH TEXAS FRIDAY BRINGING RELIEF FROM THE RECORD HEAT. THE FRONT WILL STALL ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE DAY AND THEN MAKE A FINAL PUSH FRIDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION ON FRIDAY WILL RANGE FROM THE LOWER 80S ALONG THE RED RIVER TO LOWER 90S IN OUR SOUTHERN COUNTIES...AHEAD OF THE FRONT. TEMPERATURES SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WILL BE CLOSER TO NORMAL WITH HIGHS IN THE MID 70S TO MID 80S AND LOWS MOSTLY IN THE 50S. THE MODELS CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE A PATTERN SHIFT NEXT WEEK WHICH MAY BRING SOME MUCH NEEDED RAIN TO THE REGION. THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE TO OUR WEST WILL WEAKEN AND SHIFT EAST AS THE UPPER LEVEL LOW CURRENTLY OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST MOVES ONSHORE...AND THEN AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DIGS INTO THE WESTERN CONUS AND PLAINS. THIS PATTERN CHANGE TO TROUGHING OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS COMBINED WITH ANOTHER COLD FRONT LOOKS TO POSSIBLY BRING A GOOD CHANCE FOR RAIN TO THE REGION AROUND THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THIS POTENTIAL IS STILL A WEEK OUT BUT IT WILL LIKELY BE THE MAIN FEATURE WE ARE WATCHING FOR NEXT WEEK. JLDUNN && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 97 61 95 60 87 / 0 0 0 0 5 WACO, TX 97 58 96 56 91 / 0 0 0 0 5 PARIS, TX 95 57 95 60 83 / 0 0 0 5 5 DENTON, TX 96 58 95 57 85 / 0 0 0 5 5 MCKINNEY, TX 96 56 95 58 86 / 0 0 0 5 5 DALLAS, TX 98 61 95 63 87 / 0 0 0 0 5 TERRELL, TX 96 59 95 60 89 / 0 0 0 0 5 CORSICANA, TX 97 60 95 60 91 / 0 0 0 0 5 TEMPLE, TX 96 58 93 57 91 / 0 0 0 0 5 MINERAL WELLS, TX 99 57 96 57 86 / 0 0 0 0 5 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 79/91
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 323 PM CDT WED OCT 14 2015 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-151145- 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- 323 PM CDT WED OCT 14 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THURSDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS ALL OF NORTH TEXAS. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ON TUESDAY WEST OF A LINE FROM GAINESVILLE TO COMANCHE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Ellis County emergency management reported a grass fire which burned over 300 acres near Union Hill Road and Farm to Market Road 660. The fire destroyed one barn and two small buildings.
There were two fires in Anderson County on the afternoon and evening of October 15th. The local newspaper published a report of a fire near Neches, off of Anderson County road 338, and another fire near Montabla ,near Anderson County road 471. The Neches fire burned an estimated 125 acres, while the Montalba fire burned approximately 50 acres. No homes or structures were burned in either fire.
The Fuller Fire burned an estimated 1,000 acres across Stephens County. The fire was concentrated along Stephens County roads 324 and 325. A few residences were evacuation for precautionary measures, but the fire did not threaten any homes. The fire was extinguished by rainfall during the afternoon of October 23rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, October 2015
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: 606072, 606073, 606071.