Prolonged drought conditions coupled with strong winds, low relative humidity, and receptive fuels contributed to critical fire weather conditions across the Texas Panhandle.
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.
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 AMA wrote it up.
Prolonged drought conditions coupled with strong winds, low relative humidity, and receptive fuels contributed to critical fire weather conditions across the Texas Panhandle.
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 Apr 2, 11:19 AM CST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Amarillo TX 1219 PM CDT Sat Apr 2 2022 .AVIATION...18Z TAFs... VFR conditions expected through the period at all TAF sites. Winds, initially southerly, will turn clockwise ahead of an advancing cold front tonight into Sunday morning, with this front passing GUY and DHT before the end of the period. Ferguson && .PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 304 AM CDT Sat Apr 2 2022/ SHORT TERM...Today through Sunday Night... Brief shortwave ridging today and tonight with a dry northwest to zonal upper flow. Upper ridge breaks down by late Sunday as a leading perturbations over the central and southern U.S. Rockies ahead of the main upper trough approach the Panhandles by 21Z Sunday and 00Z Monday. Convection may begin to develop by 00Z and 03Z Monday across the eastern and southern Texas Panhandle and then continue through 12Z Monday. The main shortwave trough will track east out of the Great Basin region and southwestern states and then across the central and southern U.S. Rockies by 12Z Monday. Surface ridge building into the Panhandles this morning from the central Plains states will move east by 18Z to 21Z today. Lee surface trough across eastern Colorado southward across eastern New Mexico will allow the surface flow to become southerly today which will increase this afternoon and tonight as the lee surface trough deepens. 850 mb nocturnal southerly jet of 45 to 55 knots develops after 03Z to 12Z Sunday which then veers to the southwest in response to a developing and deepening surface low over southeastern Colorado. This surface low drops south into northeastern New Mexico Sunday and ushers in a cold front. The cold front forecast to track south and east into the Oklahoma and northwest Texas Panhandles by 15Z Sunday and then all but the eastern and southern Texas Panhandle by 18Z Sunday. The frontal boundary slows down Sunday afternoon over the far eastern and southeastern Texas Panhandle before finally moving out of the forecast area by 03Z Monday or so. Surface high over eastern and southern Colorado builds south and east into the Panhandles Sunday night. Schneider FIRE WEATHER... Sunday... Elevated fire weather conditions may be possible Sunday mainly across the Oklahoma Panhandle and the northern Texas Panhandle. Max RFTI values are forecast to be as high as 1 to 2 in that region of the Panhandle with minimum afternoon relative humidity values as low as 15 to 17 percent. 20 foot winds from the northeast with speeds forecast to be 15 to 25 mph with gusts near 30 mph across the Oklahoma and northern Texas Panhandles. The ERC values are only expected to be in the 70th to 89th percentile over most of the Panhandles Sunday with some 50th to 69th percentile across the eastern, central and southwest Texas Panhandle and even isolated parts of the central and eastern Oklahoma Panhandle. The elevated fire weather conditions will be very conditional and will be monitored closely. Schneider LONG TERM...Monday through Friday... Going into next week, the chance for precipitation returns to the Panhandles with the higher chances across the east. An upper shortwave over the Four Corners will assist in bringing moisture to the Southern Plains Monday. However, given the positive tilt of the trough, the deeper moisture does appear to possibly remain farther east. Another factor in the precipitation chances Monday will be how far north low level moisture will transport ahead of the frontal passage Sunday night. The NAM brings a bit more low level moisture into the eastern Panhandles as the frontal passage is a bit slower Sunday. Much of the other models are a bit faster with the front which keeps the better low level moisture farther east and south of the Panhandles. Looking at the soundings, again the better moisture potential is in the lower levels with not much deeper moisture present. There is not much potential for thunderstorms, so if precipitation were to form it would likely remain as rain showers. Following the frontal passage Sunday night, temperatures will drop to near or slightly below normal Monday. The upper trough will swing through Monday night and all of the precipitation will be east of the Panhandles with dry conditions looking to return for the remainder of the week. Tuesday, an upper low will develop across the Montana/Canada border and move across the northern Plains into Michigan through the week. Downsloping west surface winds Tuesday will attempt to warm conditions back up into the 80s across the Panhandles ahead of another front associated with the upper low. Following the frontal passage Tuesday night, cooler air will remain in place for a few days with near or slightly below temperatures. Cold air will remain in place as a strong jet associated with the upper low that will swing down across the Central Plains with the backside crossing over the Panhandles later next week. This will bring the potential for windy conditions as well later next week. Contingent on the amount of moisture Monday, fire weather conditions are likely to return Tuesday and into later next week with dry and windy conditions possible. Rutt && .AMA Watches/Warnings/Advisories... TX...None. OK...None. && 77/88
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Amarillo TX 239 PM CDT Sat Apr 2 2022 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-317-031000- 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- 239 PM CDT Sat Apr 2 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. There is a slight chance of thunderstorms across the far southeast Texas Panhandle Sunday evening. A severe storm cannot be completely ruled out, with large hail and damaging wind the potential hazards. Elevated fire weather conditions are possible in the Oklahoma and north central Texas Panhandles Sunday afternoon. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions are possible Tuesday afternoon across the western half of the Panhandles, Wednesday afternoon in the northeastern Panhandles, and Thursday afternoon across a majority of the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated at this time. Area fire managers and emergency officials should be alert for elevated fire weather conditions Sunday and elevated to critical conditions Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Canyon Fire department responded to a grass fire (Incident Name: 22423) and was able to contained it quickly. The fire burned an estimated 300 acres.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2022
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: 1024510.