We had a few wildfires that occurred in early April. A couple in Hutchinson County (North and South Twin), and another Fire in Potter County (Meadow View).
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
We had a few wildfires that occurred in early April. A couple in Hutchinson County (North and South Twin), and another Fire in Potter County (Meadow View). The fires ranged from 365-1262 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 4, 5:33 AM CST, 5 hours 17 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Amarillo TX 633 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 ...New UPDATE, AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 1229 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 -Elevated fire weather conditions this weekend into the beginning of next week. Conditions are favorable for fires to spread quickly. -Warm temperatures next week, with precipitation possible (around 30% chance) Tuesday evening and into next weekend. && .UPDATE... Issued at 627 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 The cooler air mass has settled across the region this morning with temperatures below freezing across the northwestern Panhandles and up to mid 40s temperatures elsewhere. Highs this afternoon are still expected to mainly be in the 60s. The lows this morning and highs today are pretty much at average for early April. Even though winds will be a bit breezy for much of the day, a very nice, spring day is in store across the region! Muscha && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Sunday night) Issued at 1229 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 The upper level trough to our north will transition eastward through the short term period. An attempt at upper level ridge development will begin this weekend; however, 500 mb heights should remain relatively unchanged as we head into Monday. Surface winds should continue to flow from the north for most of our Saturday due to the cold airmass that settled over the region. A surface high is progged to set up across the panhandles tonight, which will allow winds to become light and variable. Once this surface feature becomes displaced, the pressure gradient will tighten and wind speeds will increase once again Sunday afternoon. High temperatures this weekend will start off in the 60's and 70's, but will rise to the 70's areawide tomorrow. Lows should range from the 30's to lower 40's. Sky conditions are expected to be mostly sunny. Despite the relatively cooler temperatures, fire weather will still be a marginal threat for the next couple of days due to persistent dry air and and breezy winds. Elevated fire weather conditions are anticipated until quality moisture returns. Rangel && .LONG TERM... (Monday through Friday) Issued at 1229 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 As the current weather system propagates east of the southern plains, a ridge of higher pressure begins to take its place. This will allow for warmer temperatures to build throughout the week and fire weather conditions to prevail on Monday. However, the relatively weak magnitude of the ridge and jet interactions will allow for terrain invoked precipitation and shortwave weather systems to move into the area. Temperatures will increase through midweek; however, may be stifled by a weather system on Thursday. Terrain invoked precipitation is possible Tuesday evening in the western CWA. A slight increase in Gulf moisture transport coupled with turbulent flow over the mountains is increasing rain signals. Probabilities remain low at this time (around 30%) due to uncertainty in existing dry air affecting precipitation as it enters the CWA. These uncertainties for Tuesday lie in whether Gulf moisture transport can displace enough dry air for precipitation to reach the ground. Temperatures will rebound Wednesday, with likely our warmest day of the forecast period. Thursday, an upper-level shortwave trough looks to produce a low-pressure system to push through the area. Ridging throughout the week will allow moisture content to build into the Panhandles before a lee-side low can set up a boundary across the CWA on Thursday. Timing and magnitude of this event are still very uncertain, and the signal will continue to be monitored and updated. As an upper level trough ejects into our CWA on Friday, we will likely see an active weather pattern from Friday through the weekend. && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 627 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 VFR conditions are forecast to persist over the next 24 hours. Winds will be out of the north for most of today with some gusts up to 20-25 kts. Sustained winds will decrease starting around 00z and winds will become light and variable through the end of this TAF cycle. Mostly clear skies are forecast over the terminals. Muscha && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. OK...None. && SHORT TERM...55 LONG TERM....23 AVIATION...05
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Amarillo TX 1252 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-317-041900- 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- 1252 AM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Elevated fire weather concerns present this afternoon and evening. Low relative humidity and breezy winds create favorable conditions for fires to spread. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Further rain showers, thunderstorms, and elevated to critical fire weather conditions for the panhandles next work week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The South Twin fire ignited 2 miles northwest of Sanford, TX and would go on to burn 365 acres. The cause of the fire was unknown. Both North and South Twin fires were noted as contained by the evening of the 5th.
The North Twin Fire was reported around 12:30 pm CDT about 2 miles northeast of Bugbee, TX. The fire is believed to be human caused by a vehicle. The fire would go on to burn 518 acres.
A fire ignited about 17 miles north of Amarillo along Highway 287, it was known as the Meadow View fire and it would go on to burn 1262 acres before being contained a couple days later. The cause of the fire was unknown. Fire weather conditions that day were elevated to critical at times. Winds were 20-25 mph with RH values down around 15 percent.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2026
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: 1322149, 1322148, 1322150.