Wildfire, Donley
- When
- May 3, 2:00 PM CST to May 4, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Donley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
- Coordinates
- 34.965, -100.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Texas, May 3 to 4, 2018
The Simmons Ranch wildfire began around 1400CST about four miles south southwest of Giles Texas in Donley County. S.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
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- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
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The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.
The Simmons Ranch wildfire began around 1400CST about four miles south southwest of Giles Texas in Donley County. The wildfire started between County Road A and County Road CC west of U.S. Highway 287 and consumed two thousand two hundred and sixty-two acres. There were roughly two homes and six other structures that were threatened but were saved. There were no reports of any homes or other structures destroyed by the wildfire and there were also no reports of any injuries or fatalities. The Texas A&M Forest Service responded to the wildfire and the cause of the wildfire was determined to be from equipment use. The wildfire was contained around 0030CST and 0100CST on May 4.
What forecasters said that day
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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 3, 11:32 AM CST, 2 hours 28 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 3, 11:32 AM CST, 2 hours 28 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Amarillo TX Issued by National Weather Service LUBBOCK TX 1232 PM CDT Thu May 3 2018 .AVIATION... VFR is expected through the TAF period. Strong westerly winds this afternoon will shift to the north by early evening at KGUY and KDHT behind a cold front and remain gusty. At KAMA, winds will shift to the north by mid evening. && PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 402 AM CDT Thu May 3 2018/ DISCUSSION... Based of the latest radar trends early this morning, the retrieval of the dryline to the west meeting the Pacific front moving east has caused convection to develop across the Texas South Plains. Those showers and storms are moving northeast and may clip parts of the extreme southeastern TX Panhandle this morning. Some light showers are also present across parts of the eastern Panhandle. Precipitation will clear out across the entire region as we go past 12Z this morning. As the main upper level trough in-conjunction with the surface low moving northeast toward the Great Lakes region later today, southwesterly winds will increase as the rather steep height gradient shifts east as well leading to some winds gusting to 25-30 kts at times this afternoon. Behind the shortwave trough, a cold front will work its way south this evening with dewpoints rising which should damper any additional elevated fire weather conditions for the central and western combined Panhandles. High temperatures today should be near average for early May with highs ranging from the upper 70s to mid 80s. For the remainder of the forecast period, weather conditions will continue to remain tranquil. Northwest and westerly 500 hPa flow with no predominant upper level dynamics over the region should keep our precipitation chances at a minimum. Going toward the very end of the forecast period starting on Tuesday, precipitation chances should increase as a low amplitude sinusoidal pattern develops across the central CONUS with perturbations bringing some additional chances of precipitation. With a brief cool down to slightly below average temperatures for Friday, south to southwesterly surface winds starting this weekend will raise temperatures back to above average for the remainder of the forecast period. Meccariello FIRE WEATHER... Elevated to near critical fire weather conditions are expected across the central and western Panhandles, especially the SW TX Panhandle. Min RH values will range between 10-17% along with SW winds of 15-20 kts and max RFTI values of 2 across southern areas. Tricky elements to the forecast will be the timing of the cold front this afternoon/evening along with the gradient setup for the strong winds as the main system departs to the east. Behind the cold front, dewpoint temps and RH values will rise above elevated and critical thresholds. Depending how fast the cold front moves, these conditions may arrive sooner than forecasted. As of the current forecast, the front is expected to move through early this evening. This will give the best chances of fire weather conditions for the southwestern and south central TX Panhandle. Going forward through the remainder of the forecast period, elevated fire weather conditions are possible for the west by next Monday. Meccariello && .AMA Watches/Warnings/Advisories... TX...None. OK...None. && 01
Hazardous weather outlook, May 3, 1:58 PM CST, 2 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Amarillo TX Issued by National Weather Service LUBBOCK TX 258 PM CDT Thu May 3 2018 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-317-042000- Cimarron-Texas-Beaver-Dallam-Sherman-Hansford-Ochiltree-Lipscomb- Hartley-Moore-Hutchinson-Roberts-Hemphill-Oldham-Potter-Carson- Gray-Wheeler-Deaf Smith-Randall-Armstrong-Donley-Collingsworth- Palo Duro Canyon- 258 PM CDT Thu May 3 2018 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .Day One...This Afternoon and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .Days Two through Seven...Friday through Wednesday No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Iowa, May 3 to 9, 2018
- Flooding in Wisconsin, May 3 to 5, 2018
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in New York, May 3, 2018
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 3, 2018
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 3, 2018
- Damaging Winds in New York, May 3, 2018
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, May 3, 2018
- Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 3, 2018
- Flooding in Iowa, May 3 to 8, 2018
- Flooding and Heavy Rain in Wisconsin, May 3 to 11, 2018
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 3, 2018
- Hail in Kansas, May 3, 2018
More
Every storm in Texas in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2018
Sources
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: 758476.