A very dry and hot summer with very little precipitation and abundant fuels from the spring continued to result in ideal conditions for wildfires across portions of West Central Texas. Two large wildfires developed in Sutton and Coleman Counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 SJT wrote it up.
A very dry and hot summer with very little precipitation and abundant fuels from the spring continued to result in ideal conditions for wildfires across portions of West Central Texas. Two large wildfires developed in Sutton and Coleman Counties.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 26, 5:23 PM CST, 2 hours 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 623 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2015 .AVIATION... /00Z TAFS/ Scattered showers and storms will continue near West Central terminals for the next several hours, mainly near the KABI and KSJT locations (San Angelo and Abilene). These should dissipate over by 8 PM and leave VFR conditions for the remainder of the forecast period. Winds will primarily be out of the northeast and easy, but will be highly variable near any storms. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 304 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2015/ SHORT TERM... (Tonight and Sunday) An upper level low is centered across coastal Texas, while an upper level ridge is centered across the Desert Southwest. An upper level shortwave trough/low is evident on water vapor imagery moving south into the Big Country. This feature is resulting in lift across much of West Central Texas. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are developing this afternoon, and as the atmosphere continues to heat/destabilize, showers and thunderstorms are forecast to increase in coverage. The best PoPs this afternoon/evening will be across the Big Country/Concho Valley where 30-50 PoPs continue. The main concerns with these storms will be locally heavy rainfall and dangerous lightning, although gusty winds will be possible, given dewpoint depressions of 35 to 40 degrees. Rain chances will gradually diminish by late this evening. The aforementioned upper level shortwave trough will be exiting West Central Texas Sunday morning, although some lingering isolated showers and thunderstorms are possible Sunday, mainly across the Concho Valley/Edwards Plateau. Abundant mid level cloud cover on Sunday will help to keep temperatures down a bit. Highs will generally be in the upper 80s to near 90. LONG TERM... (Sunday night through Saturday) The long term forecast remains dry. Models continue to indicate a ridge aloft will dominate West Central Texas weather into the start of next weekend. The good news is the center of this upper ridge will be much farther west by late next week. Thus, afternoon highs will be mainly in the mid 80s to around 90. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Abilene 64 88 65 90 / 30 5 5 5 San Angelo 63 90 64 92 / 30 10 5 5 Junction 62 88 64 90 / 10 10 5 10 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 07
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 245 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2015 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-271945- FISHER-NOLAN-STERLING-COKE-RUNNELS-IRION-TOM GREEN-CONCHO- CROCKETT-SCHLEICHER-SUTTON-HASKELL-THROCKMORTON-JONES-SHACKELFORD- TAYLOR-CALLAHAN-COLEMAN-BROWN-MCCULLOCH-SAN SABA-MENARD-KIMBLE- MASON- 245 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE MAIN HAZARDS WILL BE DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL...AND BRIEF GUSTY WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 442 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2015 TXZ072-262215- TOM GREEN TX- 442 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2015 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL TOM GREEN COUNTY UNTIL 515 PM CDT... AT 442 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR GRAPE CREEK...OR 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF SAN ANGELO...MOVING SOUTH AT 10 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. THIS STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... SAN ANGELO AROUND 445 PM CDT. LAT...LON 3164 10068 3154 10048 3133 10046 3139 10069 TIME...MOT...LOC 2142Z 359DEG 7KT 3152 10059
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Bar None Fire burned approximately 480 acres just off of Private Road 3346 or 15 miles east southeast of Sonora. The fire was 100% contained on September 28.
The Eiesenhower Wildfire burned approximately 336 acres near U.S. Highway 283 and County Road 152 or 3 miles west of Echo. The fire was 100% contained on September 30.
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: 602625, 602627.