Severe drought conditions developed around mid-December and increased in coverage through the end of the month after little rainfall was received.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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.
Severe drought conditions developed around mid-December and increased in coverage through the end of the month after little rainfall was received.
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 Dec 9, 11:41 PM CST, 19 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 1141 PM CST Mon Dec 9 2019 .AVIATION... /06Z TAFs/ The gradual deterioration of flying conditions across North Texas has begun with the band of rain now impacting both KAFW and KFTW. Through the rest of the night and into the morning hours, this precipitation band is expected to intensify and expand in coverage. Rain is expected to continue for much of the night as persistent forcing for ascent remains in place throughout the region. At Waco, although precipitation has not started yet, gradual moistening has begun and MVFR CIGs are likely in the next few hours. As the rain shield expands through the night, KACT will likely experience rain starting at around 09Z and continue through the mid-morning hours. Cold air advection in the wake of Monday's cold front, in combination with evaporative cooling, is expected to allow for a rain/snow mix to occur at all DFW Metroplex TAF sites for a couple of hours Tuesday morning. The potential window for a rain/snow mix will likely be confined to a window between 6-9AM. Any falling precipitation, especially in the latter half of that window, will be combating the dry air intrusion expected in the mid-levels. Above freezing surface temperatures will prevent any major accumulations from occurring within pavement or concrete surfaces. A quick dusting of snow can't be ruled out on grassy/elevated surfaces, especially in DFW metro's western TAF locations. All precipitation will be coming to an end by the late morning hours, leaving behind a deck of mid and upper level clouds. Winds will remain out of the north through this TAF period, with gusts expected to gradually diminish through the early morning hours. Hernandez && .UPDATE... /Issued 1017 PM CST Mon Dec 9 2019/ /Evening Update/ Only minor adjustments were made to the overnight forecast to account for the ongoing rain west of I-35 and its effects on the hourly temperatures. The forecast regarding the rain/snow potential remains unchanged from this afternoon's thinking. As ascent continues to overspread the region, expect to see an increase in the coverage of rain. Thermal profiles still suggest that evaporative cooling will aid in getting rid of the layer of warm air aloft, thus, the potential for a rain-snow mix will increase in the early morning hours. Light accumulations will be possible west of I-35 and north of a Goldthwaite to Glen Rose line by Tuesday morning, where slightly cooler temperatures and weak elevated instability may lead to an uptick in snowfall rates. Accumulations will likely remain more prevalent on elevated and grassy surfaces due to the faster response to the cold ambient air. As mentioned earlier, due to the limited impacts from the winter weather, no winter headlines are expected at this time. Hernandez && .SHORT TERM... /Issued 1257 PM CST Mon Dec 9 2019/ /Through Tuesday/ Only some minor adjustments were made to the previous short term forecast regarding the Tuesday morning snow potential. The main takeaways remain the same: Rain will eventually become mixed with or transition completely to snow Tuesday morning across select portions of North Texas, perhaps resulting in some minor accumulations on grassy or elevated surfaces. Very little in the way of travel impacts are expected due to surface temperatures remaining near or above freezing. Due to limited potential for accumulations and impacts, no winter headlines are planned at this time. For the remainder of the forecast area, only a cold rain is expected. Our strong cold front is presently moving through the area on schedule, and will clear the CWA to the southeast later today. Strong cold advection will continue overnight, sending temperatures into the 30s and lower 40s after midnight. The plume of mid-level moisture spreading eastward behind the front will continue to result in top-down saturation, and rain will eventually be capable of reaching the surface by this evening. This frontogenetically-induced band of precipitation will be aided by strong synoptic ascent from both DCVA accompanying a dynamic upper trough and our proximity to the right entrance region of an upper jet streak. Essentially all guidance is suggesting low-level thermal profiles will eventually become cold enough to allow for a rain-snow mix or complete transition to snow to occur across parts of North Texas roughly between 3AM and 10AM. Profiles should approach their wet bulb temperature as low-level saturation occurs, while both adiabatic lift and cold advection cool the rest of the column. Some model profiles are actually depicting some textbook heavy snow soundings, with saturation to -20C, steep lapse rates in the dendritic growth zone, and an isothermal layer near 0 to +1C through the lowest ~2km. This could allow for some bursts of heavy wet snowfall roughly in areas north of I-20 and west of I-35. Should this occur, a quick couple inches of snow could accumulate on the grass in these areas, although this would likely be an isolated occurrence. Overall, am only expecting a brief window of snow potential of a couple hours at any given location, as the overlap between sufficiently cold air, lift, and moisture will only occur over a small swath at any given time. Our main areas of concern are generally from the Cisco/Stephenville area northeastward towards Denton, which may spend the longest residence time beneath a band of snow. This would be the main location that some 1-3" totals could potentially occur on grassy surfaces. In addition, I can't completely rule out the occurrence of thunder as the coldest mid-level temperatures become situated overhead. Mid-level lapse rates could actually approach 7-8 C/km during this time which may briefly enhance precipitation rates. Uncertainties and alternate scenarios include a "reasonable worst case" of a multi-inch snow total somewhere west of the Metroplex should all the previously-discussed ingredients come together and persist for a few hours. On the other hand, a bust potential does exist in terms of low-level temperatures remaining slightly too warm for a full transition to snow to occur, in which case a mix would be the extent of observed winter weather with essentially no accumulations. This all basically depends on about 1 degree Celsius difference between 900-850mb. We've maintained a most- likely scenario depiction in the official forecast which consists of minimal accumulations across a majority of North Texas and perhaps some accumulations of up to an inch west of the Metroplex. Much drier low-level air advecting in from the north should cause an abrupt tapering off of precipitation from northwest to southeast beginning mid morning and continuing through the afternoon. That dry air will also result in rapid improvement of sky conditions, with some clearing occurring across North Texas by mid afternoon. This should allow high temperatures to climb into the 40s. The remainder of the forecast will be addressed in the long-term discussion to be issued this afternoon. -Stalley && .LONG TERM... /Issued 301 PM CST Mon Dec 9 2019/ /Tomorrow Night through Early Next Week/ A rather deep/narrow tropopause fold will be over North and Central Texas tomorrow night, bringing strong subsidence and clear skies to the area. Ample radiative cooling will allow for the entire forecast area to drop below freezing Wednesday morning. Tonight's rainfall may allow for the development of patchy fog in low-lying watershed areas, however widespread dense fog is not expected. The center of a surface high will move through Wednesday, creating southerly winds by the afternoon hours. Meanwhile, a progressive upper trough moving across the Intermountain West will move through the Southern Plains Thursday/Thursday night. The lack of sufficient moisture will keep the area precip free despite the marginal increase in mid/upper level cloud cover brought on my the advancing wave. Dry northwest flow will once again take hold of the region Friday and continue through the weekend as we remain between longwave troughs. The ECMWF and NEAFS ensemble mean guidance has rather high run to run consistency with the development of a deep (and cold) longwave trough across the western CONUS this weekend. This trough will eventually swing through the Southern Plains in the early parts of next week. Ahead of trough passage, ample leeside cyclogenesis should enhance the return flow into the area, resulting in above normal temperatures Sunday and Monday. The passage of the trough will eject out the leeside low and drive another cold front through the area Monday/Tuesday with some precipitation developing with this system. The details are yet to come into focus, but there is high confidence of another strong cold front moving through the area early next week. Bonnette && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Dallas-Ft. Worth 36 44 29 52 34 / 100 90 5 0 0 Waco 39 41 26 53 31 / 80 100 5 5 0 Paris 36 40 26 50 31 / 80 60 5 0 0 Denton 34 45 26 52 32 / 90 50 5 0 0 McKinney 35 43 27 51 32 / 90 80 5 0 0 Dallas 36 44 29 52 34 / 100 90 5 0 0 Terrell 38 41 26 52 32 / 100 100 5 0 0 Corsicana 40 41 28 53 33 / 80 100 5 5 0 Temple 41 41 27 53 32 / 60 100 5 5 0 Mineral Wells 34 46 24 51 30 / 100 60 0 0 0 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 08
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 244 PM CST Mon Dec 9 2019 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-101300- 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- 244 PM CST Mon Dec 9 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for North and Central Texas. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Late tonight, rain may mix with or transition to snow across parts of North Texas. A dusting to light accumulations will be possible on grass or elevated surfaces, especially west of I-35. However, warm surface temperatures should make travel impacts unlikely. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. A mix of rain and snow will continue across parts of North Texas Tuesday morning, roughly near and north of I-20. Little in the way of accumulation is expected, although localized areas could see light accumulations on elevated surfaces and in grassy areas. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. However, timely reports of snow are appreciated.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
During the second week of December, severe drought conditions developed across the western half of Anderson County and spread across the entire county by the end of the month.
Severe drought conditions developed across northern parts of the county mid-December. By the end of the month, the entire eastern half of the county was affected by severe drought conditions.
Severe drought conditions developed across most of the county beginning mid-December and lasted through the end of the month.
Severe drought conditions developed across the southern half of the county beginning mid-December and lasted through the end of the month.
Severe drought developed across northeast portions of the county beginning mid-December and lasted through the end of the month.
Severe drought conditions developed in the southeast part of the county beginning mid-December and lasted through the end of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, December 2019
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: 869529, 869530, 869531, 869532, 869533, 869546.