Temperatures were fairly typical of mid July across North Texas, but heat related deaths still occurred in a few locations across the region.
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 FWD wrote it up.
Temperatures were fairly typical of mid July across North Texas, but heat related deaths still occurred in a few locations across the region.
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 Jul 18, 2:38 PM CST, 1 hour 22 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 338 PM CDT MON JUL 18 2016 .DISCUSSION... Afternoon satellite and radar imagery shows a scattering of cumulus clouds across North and Central Texas with scattered sea breeze showers and thunderstorms across southeast Texas. Otherwise temperatures are in the low to mid 90s with light southeast winds. The sea breeze convection will continue to move inland and may affect parts of our extreme southeast CWA but otherwise North and Central Texas will remain rain free. On Tuesday...the upper ridge will be firmly in control over the central and southern Plains although there will be deep east- southeast flow across North Texas. This will allow a plume of mid level moisture to spread into the region from the east by tomorrow afternoon. While not a major change to the weather pattern by any means...there may be more isolated shower and thunderstorm activity across our east and southeast counties. PoPs will still only be around 10% for most areas. Wednesday and Thursday...the ridge appears that it will be strongest just to our north. Hot temperatures and mostly clear skies will prevail. Afternoon highs will continue to warm through the week with temperatures topping out near or slightly above 100 degrees through the end of the week. At this time...it still looks like afternoon dewpoints will mix into the mid/upper 60s. That being the case...heat index values will generally range between 102 and 105 degrees which should preclude the need for a heat advisory at this time. The only exception to this may be our far east and northeast counties where dewpoints could remain in the lower 70s. We will continue to monitor this over the next few days. Right now...the hottest temperatures and highest humidity will be to our northeast. There may be some relief on the way by next weekend into early next week as it appears the upper ridge may get pushed back to the west. This would open the door to northerly flow aloft and slightly cooler temperatures. More importantly...a weak frontal boundary may provide sufficient focus for more scattered shower and thunderstorm activity next week. Fire weather potential...Latest fuels assessment across Texas indicates that areas that have not received any rainfall in the last 14 days are now experiencing rapid drying. Fine fuels such as grasses continue to dry out across North and Central Texas and will support fire growth rather quickly where afternoon humidity drops to around 30%. The only limiting factor to a more significant grass fire threat will be the lack of winds through the upcoming week. Nonetheless...caution should be exercised when doing any outdoor burning or cooking. Dunn && .AVIATION... /ISSUED 1253 PM CDT MON JUL 18 2016/ 18 UTC TAF Cycle Concerns...VFR w/ south flow for the Metroplex TAF sites. Low convective and MVFR stratus potential for Waco TAF site. VFR should prevail through the entire 18 UTC TAF cycle for the Metroplex with southerly winds of around 8 to 10 knots. A few gusts to 12-15 knots will be possible. Diurnal VFR CU will scatter and decay this evening, but for simplicity sake, will maintain one-line TAFs for the Metroplex. Convection that developed early in the day across Central TX has struggled to maintain itself due to the weak wind shear and influence of the mid/upper level high. While southeast TX sea- breeze activity may make a run towards Central TX, I feel the influence of the upper high will be too great and thus will keep the Waco TAF precipitation free. Radar trends will be monitored, however. There will be a low chance for MVFR stratus Tuesday morning across Central TX. Given the unimpressive model forecast wind fields, however, I've decided to leave the Waco TAF VFR at this time. Bain && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Dallas-Ft. Worth 78 97 78 99 78 / 0 0 0 0 0 Waco 77 98 77 99 77 / 5 5 5 0 0 Paris 76 96 76 97 76 / 0 10 5 5 0 Denton 75 95 75 97 75 / 0 0 0 0 0 McKinney 76 95 76 97 76 / 0 5 5 0 0 Dallas 79 96 78 98 78 / 0 5 5 0 0 Terrell 77 95 76 97 76 / 0 5 5 0 0 Corsicana 77 96 77 97 77 / 5 5 5 5 0 Temple 75 98 75 98 75 / 5 5 5 0 0 Mineral Wells 74 97 74 98 74 / 0 0 0 0 0 && .FWD Watches/Warnings/Advisories... None. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 339 PM CDT MON JUL 18 2016 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-191300- 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- 339 PM CDT MON JUL 18 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT. THERE IS A LOW CHANCE FOR AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM OR TWO SOUTH AND EAST OF A CAMERON TO PALESTINE LINE. LIGHTNING STRIKES AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF A CAMERON TO CORSICANA...TO BONHAM LINE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY EVENING. LIGHTNING STRIKES AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. HOT CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THIS WEEK WITH HEAT INDEX VALUES BETWEEN 99 AND 105 DEGREES. AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 35 WILL SEE THE HIGHEST HEAT INDEX VALUES...ESPECIALLY FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. BAIN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
A two year old girl died after being left in a car during the afternoon of July 18.
A 25 year old man died of hear stroke while working at a construction site during the afternoon of July 19.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Dallas | 2016-07-18 | 2 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Heat, Collin | 2016-07-19 | 25 | Male | Heavy Equipment/Construction | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 2016
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: 651255, 651256.