On the evening of the 5th a strong cold front passed through the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles bring northerly winds in the 30-35 mph range. These winds combined with drought stressed vegetation fueled a wildfire that burned well into the evening of the 6th claiming 4,408 acres.
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.
On the evening of the 5th a strong cold front passed through the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles bring northerly winds in the 30-35 mph range. These winds combined with drought stressed vegetation fueled a wildfire that burned well into the evening of the 6th claiming 4,408 acres.
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 5, 6:07 PM CST, 4 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
707 PM CDT Tue Apr 5 2022
.AVIATION...
For the 00Z TAFs, a cold front has already moved through KGUY and
KDHT and will move through KAMA by around 01Z this evening. Strong
and gusty north winds are expected for several hours behind this
frontal boundary, and an Aviation Weather Warning has been issued
for KAMA and Tradewind Airport from 01Z until 06Z. Patchy blowing
dust may accompany the cold frontal passage for a brief period
this evening. No precipitation is anticipated through late
Wednesday afternoon.
02
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 301 PM CDT Tue Apr 5 2022/
SHORT TERM...Tonight through Thursday Night...
Large scale 500mb trof will be approaching the Great Lakes Region
this evening. Behind the system will be a cold front that is
currently approaching the Oklahoma Panhandle, and should be
entering in the next hour or two. Based on current satellite
data, it may move a bit faster than previously forecast. Right
now it may be through the entire Panhandles by 8 PM tonight. Winds
will out of the north behind the front and are expected to be
20-30 mph gusting 40-45 mph.
As the large scale trof continues to spin towards the Great Lakes
tomorrow and Thursday, a very strong well stacked jet out of the
northwest will be accompanied. Temperatures will be mild and
cooler, but still there should be sufficient heating for deep
layer mixing on Wednesday and Thursday. The strongest 700mb jet
max will be more off to the north and east for Wednesday, so we
expect the OK Panhandle and northeast TX Panhandle to see winds
strong enough to meet Advisory criteria. Therefore a Wind
Advisory is in effect from noon until 7PM on Wednesday for the
mentioned area.
It looks like Thursday will be a carbon copy of Wednesday with a
slightly expanded area to the southwest, as upper level winds
will still be very strong across the northeast but the jet will
now favor the northern, central, and eastern Panhandles. We may
even be looking at winds strong enough for High Wind Warning
criteria on Thursday. The jet maxima will finally shift east and
we should briefly transition to a more relaxed quiet day on
Friday. High temperatures behind the front will likely range in
the upper 50s to mid 60s, both Wednesday and Thursday
Weber
FIRE WEATHER...Tonight through Thursday Night...
Fire Weather will continue for several days. Today will be a bit
more tame than the next two days, as RH's are the big driver for
today, but we do still have breezy west winds around 15-25 mph.
RFIT's today continue to be in the 2-4 range, but again most of it
is driven by the lower RH values. Any active fires need to be on
the lookout for the cold front wind shifts. Cold front is near the
OK Panhandle as of right now 2:30pm and should be through the
Panhandles around 8PM. Winds behind the front will be out of the
north 20-30 mph with gusts 40-45 mph.
Winds will continue out of the north for the next couple days.
Temperatures will be able to get to the mid 50s to lower 60s. So
we will not have the warm thermal ridge over the area,
temperatures will still be warm enough to keep RFTI's from being
capped. Strong jet aloft will hold for the Wednesday and Thursday
allowing for good mixing of the winds to the surface. Winds 25-35
with gusts as high as 50 mph will be possible on Wednesday. The
worst of the winds looks to be in the OK and northern TX
Panhandle, where the rest of the Panhandle will see winds more in
the 20-30 mph. That being said RH values will still be around
8-10 percent around the central Panhandles and that will keep the
RFTI's around 7. With the ERC's at the 90th percentile, this will
trigger extreme Fire Weather Conditions. It's not a SGPWO
scenario, but if a fire starts under these fuels, it's going to
be hard to control.
Thursday will be almost the same scenario, only the RH values will
be down around 15 percent, but the winds are expected to be as
strong, if not stronger. So now we have RFTI's of 6, but it's more
wind driven on Thursday. It will be close, but Thursday could be
another high end critical day, and close to extremely critical
Fire Weather conditions. The area for the strongest winds will
expand on Thursday to include all the eastern Panhandles, the
central Panhandles, and the northwest Panhandles. Wind gust
potential could be upwards of 60 mph on Thursday if the strongest
guidance pans out.
Weber
LONG TERM...
Warm, dry, and breezy conditions will continue across the area
Friday through Monday. Friday will be the last day with some
northwest winds aloft as well as northwesterly winds at the
surface. Saturday, surface winds become southwesterly
(downsloping), and combined with slight ridging aloft contribute
to highs reaching back into the 80s. No signs of precipitation
to be had during these days in the extended period, leading to
continued concerns for critical fire weather conditions in the
extended.
A strong and large upper level low will still be impacting the FA
on Friday. By Friday, the center of the low is progged to be
centered over Michigan, parts of the Great Lakes into northern
IN/OH. A ridge axis upstream will be extending from southern CA
into western MT on Friday. This will be the ridge to move in over
the weekend leading to the highs in the upper 80s. This ridge
will start to break down going into Sunday as the next upper
level trough digs into the Pacific Northwest and well into the
western Rockies. Sunday and Monday will still be warm as the
trough digs further south over these two days before propagating
eastward. Flow aloft will finally become southwest instead of the
mostly zonal flow Sat and Sun.
Friday will be one of the less critical fire weather days with
mostly elevated conditions as the winds finally start to subside
as the strong upper low that will be moving over Michigan
continues further east. Cross barrier flow will increase with the
next trough pushing down over the northern Inner Mountain West,
creating a leeside surface low in eastern CO both Sat and Sun.
This will create breezy pressure gradient driven winds over the
weekend. The associated surface trough will impact eastern CO,
western KS, and south into eastern NM and portions of the combined
Panhandles. This will not only contribute to the surface winds
but also create really low dewpoints and warm H85 temperatures
(upwards of 25 degrees C) that will lead to RH values in the
single digits. Monday will be similar if not more favorable for
winds depending on the progression of the next upper level system.
winds could be stronger if a stacked jet can move in Monday and
not Tuesday.
Hoffeditz
Fire Weather...Friday through Monday...
Winds should subside a little toward the late afternoon Friday,
when Min RH's are reached. This will only reduced to the chances
for critical fire weather conditions, with widespread elevated
conditions still looking to be present.
Come Saturday a leeside low will develop over eastern CO with a
surface trough running south through the western combined
Panhandles into eastern NM. This will create some breezy
southwest winds both on Sat and Sun with winds in the 20 to 30 mph
range. The surface trough will also attribute to drier and warmer
conditions with highs reaching well into the 80s and RH's
dropping into the single digits. The western half of the combined
Panhandles does look to be most favored for critical fire weather
conditions. However, the entire combined Panhandles could
possibly see the critical fire weather conditions. RFTI's will be
around 5 to 6 with isolated 7s across the area over the weekend.
Come Monday, critical fire weather conditions still look favorable
for the western half of the combined Panhandles once again. The
next upper level low will be approaching the area and is progged
to impact the area come Tuesday. However, if this system moves in
a little bit quicker it could very well bring a stacked jet into
the Panhandles on Monday increasing the winds and overall RFTI's
Monday afternoon. Otherwise Tuesday may be one of the bigger fire
weather days. Please pay close attention as Monday and Tuesday
approaches.
AVIATION...18Z TAFS...
VFR conditions are expected at all TAF sites over the next 24
hours. Cold front expected to move through this afternoon into the
evening hours with a north wind shift 20 to 30 knots. Rough
estimated cold front times 21/22z at KGUY, 22/23z at KDHT, and
01/02z at KAMA. North winds will continue through the remainder of
the TAF period, and will pick back up again at the end of the TAF
period. No visibility or sky restrictions expected with the
front, or during the TAF period.
Weber
&&
.AMA Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
TX...Red Flag Warning from 10 AM to 9 PM CDT Wednesday for the
following zones: Armstrong...Carson...Collingsworth...
Dallam...Donley...Gray...Hansford...Hartley...Hemphill...
Hutchinson...Lipscomb...Moore...Ochiltree...Palo Duro
Canyon...Potter...Randall...Roberts...Sherman...Wheeler.
Wind Advisory from noon to 7 PM CDT Wednesday for the following
zones: Hansford...Lipscomb...Ochiltree...Sherman.
Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for the following
zones: Armstrong...Carson...Dallam...Deaf Smith...Donley...
Hartley...Moore...Oldham...Palo Duro Canyon...Potter...
Randall...Sherman.
OK...Red Flag Warning from 10 AM to 9 PM CDT Wednesday for the
following zones: Beaver...Cimarron...Texas.
Wind Advisory from noon to 7 PM CDT Wednesday for the following
zones: Beaver...Cimarron...Texas.
Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for the following
zones: Cimarron...Texas.
&&Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Amarillo TX 1016 PM CDT Tue Apr 5 2022 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-317-061115- 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- 1016 PM CDT Tue Apr 5 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. .DAY ONE...Rest of Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. Critical fire weather conditions are expected across the majority of the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles Wednesday afternoon. A Red Flag Warning is in effect from 10 AM through 9 PM CDT Wednesday for all counties except the two far southwest Texas Panhandle counties. Elevated fire weather conditions will be present for the two counties not in the Red Flag Warning. Strong winds in the 35 to 39 mph range are expected to impact the Oklahoma Panhandle and the most northern counties in the Texas Panhandle on Wednesday as well. A Wind Advisory is in effect from noon through 7 PM CDT time Wednesday for these counties in the northern combined Panhandles. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will be possible Thursday through Monday as well. Strong winds are expected Thursday afternoon, mainly in the northeastern half of the Panhandles. Wind highlights will most likely be needed for Thursday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated at this time. Area fire managers and emergency officials should be alert for elevated to critical fire weather conditions Wednesday through Monday.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
1041 PM CDT TUE APR 5 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1029 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 6 SE WELLINGTON 34.79N 100.14W
04/05/2022 M59 MPH COLLINGSWORTH TX MESONET
WEST TEXAS MESONET 6 SE OF WELLINGTON.
&&
BRMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
This wildfire was dubbed the Sand Creek Fire and was located 6 miles east of Lefors, TX. This fire was north of Ranch Road 1321 and east of Ranch Road 1474. The fire burned an estimated 4,408 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: 1024759.