Some of the Central Texas counties were limited to moderate drought (D1) until the last few days of the month, when conditions finally deteriorated to severe drought (D2).
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.
Some of the Central Texas counties were limited to moderate drought (D1) until the last few days of the month, when conditions finally deteriorated to severe drought (D2).
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 28, 9:07 PM CST, 2 hours 53 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 1007 PM CDT Sat Jul 28 2018 .UPDATE... Renewed thunderstorm development has occurred across Northwest Texas, within an axis of enhanced mid-level moisture. Aided by a westward moving outflow boundary, this activity is benefiting from the last vestiges of instability within the deep July boundary layer. However, it should soon be sealed off from the surface layer, which will limit its inflow to the drier air between 1 and 2 miles above the surface. These decaying cells may attempt to produce some downdrafts, but as the evening progresses, these winds will be increasingly less likely to reach the surface. The evening update will mention showers and isolated thunderstorms within the ongoing area and a bit to the south to account for the northerly mean flow aloft. No additional activity is expected after midnight. The cluster of storms entering the Oklahoma Panhandle wouldn't reach the Red River until the daylight hours of Sunday morning. Adjustments were made to temperature trends, but no significant changes were needed to tonight's low temperatures. 25 && .AVIATION... /Issued 715 PM CDT Sat Jul 28 2018/ /00Z TAFs/ The thunderstorm east of Dallas is near the tail end of a shortwave swinging through the Ark-La-Tex. MLCAPE values exceed 1000 J/kg near and to the east of this cell. However, further to the west, both the low-level instability and the forcing aloft diminish. The enhanced CU (and occasional sprinkles) to the west show that there is some marginal instability available, but these convective elements have struggled to maintain precip-bearing updrafts. This should remain the case through sunset, but the outflow boundary approaching DFW/DAL will still need to be monitored for sudden development. This will be noted as a weak wind shift at both of the commercial airports, accompanied with a brief window of VCTS. The Bonham cornerpost has been the most impacted, but it has now cleared and will remain free of storms this evening. The ongoing cell will disrupt east departures, but only marginal impacts are anticipated for the Cedar Creek arrival corridor. The activity within Oklahoma is largely diurnally driven, and after dark, the TRACON should be free of storms. The thunderstorms currently on the High Plains of eastern Colorado will once again make a charge to the southeast tonight. Unseasonably strong 925mb winds will aid this process, but with a relatively dry low-level jet, an MCS should be more inclined to turn left toward the better moisture to the east. In any event, it still appears that the associated outflow could slip south of the Red River during the daylight hours Sunday. Based on the evolution of the complex this evening, we may introduce some VCSH/VCTS with the 06Z TAFs. 25 && .SHORT TERM... /Issued 320 PM CDT Sat Jul 28 2018/ /Through Tonight/ While morning convection has all nearly exited the area to the east, additional isolated development is possible through late afternoon and early evening. This would be due to a shortwave trough moving through Central Oklahoma within northwest flow aloft. Lift from this disturbance coupled with convergence along sporadic outflow boundaries at the surface should be capable of initiating isolated showers or a few storms across North Texas after 3 or 4 PM. Due to the presence of some low-level dry air, instability will remain fairly limited, although more robust cells would be capable of occasional lightning strikes and gusty downburst winds. Most activity will dissipate with loss of heating this evening. Overnight, another complex of storms will take shape across western Kansas and move southeast into Oklahoma. This complex is expected to dissipate prior to reaching the Red River, but remnant cloud cover may linger in our northern counties Sunday morning. Most locations in North and Central Texas will remain rain-free through the overnight hours. With less cloud cover expected tonight than previous nights, am generally expecting overnight lows to be a couple degrees cooler across the board. -Stalley && .LONG TERM... /Issued 320 PM CDT Sat Jul 28 2018/ /Sunday through Saturday/ Sunday looks like it will be the last day with highs at or above 100 degrees areawide for at least a few days. The center of the upper ridge axis will continue to shift slowly westward during the day Sunday keeping North Texas in a northwest flow aloft, although it will initially be weak. A complex of showers and thunderstorms may be ongoing early Sunday morning to the north of the region across Oklahoma, but this activity should diminish in coverage and intensity as it heads southward. We'll hang on to some low PoPs across the northeast counties to account for this morning activity. If convection is fairly well organized to the north, it may send an outflow boundary southward into the region by Sunday afternoon. If this were to happen then the boundary could be a localized focus for isolated showers and storms across parts of the region. Moisture and instability will be best across the northeast Sunday afternoon and we'll keep the best rain chances confined to that area. Instability really tapers off from the Metroplex southward tomorrow with abundant dry air below 700 mb so the potential for strong storms will be low and mainly confined to the northeast counties. By Sunday night, a shortwave will spread out of the Northern Rockies and into the Central Plains allowing a rather strong summertime cold front to advance southward. The front should enter North Texas sometime on Monday accompanied by increasing shower and thunderstorm chances. While much needed rain is in the forecast, not all areas are likely to pick up beneficial rainfall. Ongoing convection across Oklahoma Sunday night may be in a weakening state when it arrives in North Texas on Monday with additional convection holding off until Monday afternoon/evening when better destabilization occurs. In the meantime, the front will continue to spread southward through the day. We'll have the highest rain chances mainly north of I-20 on Monday with better chances spreading south of I-20 into the evening hours. The strong shortwave trough will spread east of the area by Tuesday with the front clearing the entire area and rain chances diminishing. High temperatures on Tuesday will fall back into the lower 90s with a gradual warming back into the upper 90s by the end of next week. Dunn && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Dallas-Ft. Worth 80 102 80 93 74 / 20 10 20 40 50 Waco 78 103 79 98 74 / 10 5 5 20 60 Paris 73 97 74 86 69 / 20 30 30 50 50 Denton 77 102 77 91 70 / 10 20 20 40 40 McKinney 76 101 77 91 71 / 20 20 20 40 50 Dallas 82 102 81 94 75 / 20 10 20 40 50 Terrell 77 101 77 94 73 / 20 20 20 40 60 Corsicana 77 101 78 95 73 / 20 10 10 30 60 Temple 76 101 76 98 74 / 5 5 5 10 50 Mineral Wells 76 103 76 92 70 / 5 10 20 40 40 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 25/66
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 1135 PM CDT Sat Jul 28 2018 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-291100- 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- 1135 PM CDT Sat Jul 28 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for North and Central Texas. .DAY ONE...Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Thunderstorm chances will resume Sunday and Sunday night across North Texas, and will overspread all of North and Central Texas Monday through Tuesday morning as a cold front moves through the area. A couple of strong storms are possible during this time period, but widespread severe weather is not expected. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Moderate drought conditions deteriorated to severe drought by the end of the month due to below-normal rainfall.
Moderate drought conditions deteriorated to severe drought by the end of the month due to below-normal rainfall.
Moderate drought conditions deteriorated to severe drought by the end of the month due to below-normal rainfall.
Moderate drought conditions deteriorated to severe drought by the end of the month due to below-normal rainfall.
Moderate drought conditions deteriorated to severe drought by the end of the month due to below-normal rainfall.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 2018
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: 776665, 776666, 776667, 776668, 776669.