Below-normal rainfall in September led to worsening drought conditions across the region. Though area reservoirs remained in good condition, drying soil and vegetation began to take its toll, particularly across the eastern half of north Texas.
Every event with a place to put it; 26 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.
Below-normal rainfall in September led to worsening drought conditions across the region. Though area reservoirs remained in good condition, drying soil and vegetation began to take its toll, particularly across the eastern 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 Aug 31, 10:26 PM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1126 PM CDT MON AUG 31 2015 .AVIATION... VFR WILL PREVAIL WITH GENERALLY CLEAR SKIES...ALTHOUGH SOME HIGH CLOUDS AND AFTERNOON CUMULUS WILL BE POSSIBLE. S/SE WINDS WILL AVERAGE 10KT. THERE IS A LOW RISK OF MVFR CIGS AT WACO DURING THE EARLY-MID MORNING HOURS...BUT THIS PROBABILITY LOOKS TOO LOW TO MENTION WITH CIGS LIKELY STAYING EAST OF THE TAF SITE. && .UPDATE... ISOLATED SHOWERS OVER SOUTHERN COUNTIES HAVE DIMINISHED WITH THE LOSS OF SURFACE HEATING. MEANWHILE...A COMBINATION OF SEABREEZE AND OUTFLOW HAS HELPED CREATE SOME PARTICULARLY BACKED WINDS AT THE SURFACE...BUT FLOW SHOULD BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY AS WE HEAD INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. WE HAVE ADJUSTED GRIDS TO REFLECT THE CURRENT TRENDS...OVERALL THE CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD. 30 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 322 PM CDT MON AUG 31 2015/ MLCAPE VALUES HAVE SOARED TO AROUND 1500J/KG IN MANY AREAS SOUTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR. DESPITE THIS INSTABILITY BEING UNCAPPED... THE CU FIELD APPEARS TO BE WAITING FOR A LOW-LEVEL FOCUS FOR CONVECTIVE INITIATION. SHOWERS AND STORMS DEVELOPED IN AREAS NORTH OF THE I-10 CORRIDOR BEFORE MIDDAY...BUT THIS ACTIVITY HAS REMAINED SOUTH OF THE CWA. IN ADDITION...THE COVERAGE HAS BEEN INSUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE ANY OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FARTHER NORTH. AS IS TYPICAL IN AUGUST...INITIATION COULD BEGIN ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EAST TEXAS AS LATE AS 6 PM CDT. WILL MAINTAIN LOW-END POPS INTO THE MID-EVENING WHERE THE RICHEST MOISTURE RESIDES BENEATH MID-LEVEL TROUGHING. WITH WEAK SHEAR AND LIMITED TIME BETWEEN POTENTIAL INITIATION AND SUNSET...ANY ACTIVITY THAT DEVELOPS SHOULD BE SHORT-LIVED. ALTHOUGH THIS WILL LIKELY PRECLUDE ANY SEVERE WEATHER...DANGEROUS CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY ANY STORMS. WITHOUT WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION...THE TROUGHING ALOFT WILL GRADUALLY ERODE AS THE WEEK PROGRESSES. IN THE MEANTIME...A PERSISTENCE FORECAST WILL MEAN NON-ZERO THOUGH NEGLIGIBLE RAIN CHANCES AND SEASONAL TEMPERATURES. THE BEST CHANCES WILL CONTINUE TO BE IN THE SOUTHEAST ZONES WHERE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM SOUTHEAST TEXAS ACTIVITY MAY INTERACT WITH RICH LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE. ALTHOUGH WE WILL MAINTAIN 10 POPS IN THE SOUTHEAST THROUGHOUT THE UPCOMING WEEKEND (FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY)...EXPECT RIDGING WILL BEGIN TAKING HOLD...AND WILL CARRY NO MENTION OF PRECIPITATION IN THE WORDED FORECAST. CONSENSUS AMONG EXTENDED GUIDANCE IS FOR RIDGING TO PERSIST NEXT WEEK...KEEPING THE SUMMER HEAT IN PLACE. 25 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 75 95 74 94 75 / 10 5 5 5 5 WACO, TX 73 94 72 94 73 / 10 10 10 10 10 PARIS, TX 70 93 70 93 71 / 10 10 10 10 10 DENTON, TX 73 95 72 94 73 / 5 5 5 5 5 MCKINNEY, TX 72 94 71 93 72 / 10 5 5 5 5 DALLAS, TX 76 94 75 94 76 / 10 5 5 5 5 TERRELL, TX 72 93 72 94 73 / 10 10 10 10 10 CORSICANA, TX 73 93 72 94 72 / 10 20 20 10 10 TEMPLE, TX 71 93 71 93 71 / 10 20 20 10 10 MINERAL WELLS, TX 71 95 71 94 72 / 5 5 5 5 5 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1129 PM CDT MON AUG 31 2015 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-020430- 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- 1129 PM CDT MON AUG 31 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...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM ATHENS TO KILLEEN EACH AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. LIGHTNING STRIKES AND GUSTY WINDS WILL REMAIN THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
26 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Cooke County waffled between moderate and severe drought throughout the month of September.
Severe/D2 drought was limited to the extreme southwest corner of Grayson County at the start of September. These conditions expanded to cover the majority of the county during the second week of September. Severe/D2 drought subsequently affected at least half of the county from week two through the end of the month.
Fannin County had only small sections of Severe/D2 drought nosing into the edges of the county during the first half of September. These conditions expanded to include all of the county during the third week of the month, and subsequently remained in place through the end of the month.
Lamar County had only small sections of Severe/D2 drought nosing into the edges of the county during the first half of September. These conditions expanded to include all of the county during the third week of the month, and subsequently remained in place through the end of the month.
Severe/D2 drought in place county-wide at the beginning of September improved briefly during the middle of the month, thanks to two separate rain events totaling around an inch and a half. Dry weather set in during the last third of the month, bringing a return to the severe drought by the month's end.
Severe/D2 drought conditions covered Collin County for all of September, 2015.
Hunt County had only small sections of Severe/D2 drought nosing into the edges of the county during the first half of September. These conditions expanded to include all of the county during the third week of the month, and subsequently remained in place through the end of the month.
Severe/D2 conditions in place county-wide at the beginning of September improved during the middle of the month due to a couple of rainfall events across the region. However, severe drought conditions returned during the final week of the month as a dry weather pattern reestablished itself over the area.
Severe/D2 conditions in place county-wide at the beginning of September improved during the middle of the month due to a couple of rainfall events across the region. However, severe drought conditions returned during the final week of the month as a dry weather pattern reestablished itself over the area.
Severe/D2 conditions in place county-wide at the beginning of September improved during the middle of the month due to a couple of rainfall events across the region. However, severe drought conditions returned during the final week of the month as a dry weather pattern reestablished itself over the area.
Rockwall County had only small sections of Severe/D2 drought nosing into the edges of the county during the first half of September. These conditions expanded to include all of the county during the third week of the month, and subsequently remained in place through the end of the month.
Severe/D2 conditions in place county-wide at the beginning of September improved during the middle of the month due to a couple of rainfall events across the region. However, severe drought conditions returned during the final week of the month as a dry weather pattern reestablished itself over the area.
Severe/D2 conditions in place county-wide at the beginning of September improved during the middle of the month due to a couple of rainfall events across the region. However, severe drought conditions returned during the final week of the month as a dry weather pattern reestablished itself over the area.
Severe/ D2 drought affected the southern third of the county during September. The rest of the county experienced Moderate/D1 or better conditions.
Severe/ D2 drought affected the northern third of the county during September. The rest of the county experienced Moderate/D1 or better conditions.
Severe/D2 drought conditions in place for most of September deteriorated to Extreme/D3 during the last few days of the month due to below-normal rainfall across the county.
Severe/D2 drought conditions in place for most of September deteriorated to Extreme/D3 during the last few days of the month due to below-normal rainfall across the county.
McClennan County had only small sections of Severe/D2 drought nosing into the edges of the county during the first half of September. These conditions expanded to include all of the county during the third week of the month, and subsequently remained in place through the end of the month.
Bell County had only small sections of Severe/D2 drought nosing into the edges of the county during the first half of September. These conditions expanded to include all of the county during the third week of the month, and subsequently remained in place through the end of the month.
Falls County began the month of September ranging from Moderate/D1 drought across the west, Severe/D2 in the central and Extreme/D3 conditions in the east. The extreme drought conditions spread steadily west to cover all of the county by the end of the month, thanks to the low rainfall amounts over the summer.
Extreme/D3 drought conditions were in place across the southern half of Limestone County at the beginning of September 2015. These conditions gradually expanded over the course of the month, and included all of the county by the month's end.
Extreme/D3 drought conditions were in place across the southern half of Freestone County at the beginning of September 2015. These conditions gradually expanded over the course of the month, and included all of the county by the month's end.
Extreme/D3 drought conditions were in place across the southwestern third of Anderson County at the beginning of September 2015. These conditions gradually expanded over the course of the month, and included all of the county by the month's end.
Severe/D2 conditions in place at the beginning of September deteriorated to Extreme/D3 about a week in due to a continued lack of significant rainfall. These conditions remained in place through the end of the month.
Extreme/D3 conditions covered Robertson County for all of September 2015.
Extreme/D3 conditions covered Leon County for all of September 2015.
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, September 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: 599192, 599193, 599194, 599195, 599198, 599199, 599201, 599203, 599204, 599205, 599206, 599208, 599209, 599210, 599220, 599226, 599229, 599241, 599242, 599290, 599291, 599292, 599293, 599294, 599295, 599296.