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Texas Wildfires and Drought

msp

By msp,
in Central/Western States

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wall_cloud

wall_cloud

Posted
Posted

fire warning just north of san angelo... evacs issued, us hwy 277 closed

nasty fire conditions :

100/28... 8% RH... winds gusting to near 30

yeah, it hasn't gotten any better since these fire complexes started. Temps up to 100 degrees and humidities that low really suck the moisture out of everything. This fire north of San Angelo (Wildcat fire) was caused by a lightning strike shortly after midnight over a week ago but didn't really get going until Thursday. Its up to ~155,000 acres so far and isn't even close to bring the largest fire in the state. There are two fires larger (Rock House ~200,000 acres and Cooper Mountain Ranch ~160,000 acres) and many in the 10,000 to 80,000 range. The smoke has been brutal at times in San Angelo but hasn't been bad since the south wind returned. Luckily, we'll be seeing increasing moisture and much better rain chances beginning tomorrow (WED) and continuing through the weekend. I'm praying for rain...we've had 0.11" since February 1 and there are others that are far worse off than we are.

On a side note, the NOAA Weather Radio transmitter that services San Angelo and surrounding areas burned up in the Wildcat fire last Friday, leaving us with no service. We have a temporary transmitter coming in tomorrow and a new 1000 W replacement on order. The building that housed the transmitter was about 15 mi north of San Angelo and was one of the few structures burned.

Anyone in the area is welcome to follow the NWS SJT Facebook Page as well

Here are some pics from some of the West Texas fires:

MODIS real color image of burn scars:

215283_1936079676697_1083505446_32074622_7834033_n.jpg

McDonald Observatory:

mcdonald-observatory-wildfires-110419-02.jpg?1303252334

Texas Forest Service working near Rotan:

110416_texwildfire.grid-8x2.jpg

Cattle fleeing from fire near Marfa:

texas%20wildfires--1864334589_v2.grid-6x2.jpg

The Wildcat fire north of San Angelo (from Robert Lee):

RobertLeeFire2.jpg

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TXWXCHX

TXWXCHX

Posted
Posted

This fire season has just barely started and Texas have already lost two firefighters :( Our local firefighters have already sent one strike team, and are preparing to send another next weekend... and this may be just the start. Trying to wrap our heads around the magnitude of this situation is indescribable; just the logistics alone is enough to cause headaches, regarding evacuations, planning, rehad, everything. We're trying to prepare our community for such a possibility; we'll have an emergency planning meeting next week for the local fire dept and co-ordinate with the County OEM...

Pray for rain.

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Srain

Srain

Posted
Posted

From Dallas/Ft Worth NWS:

.CLIMATE...

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE 12-YEAR HISTORY OF THE U.S. DROUGHT

MONITOR...THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS IS IN DROUGHT. TWO THIRDS OF

TEXAS IS CATEGORIZED AS BEING IN EXTREME (D3) OR EXCEPTIONAL

DROUGHT (D4)...THE GREATEST EXTENT ON RECORD.

post-32-0-64581300-1303423229.png

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aslkahuna

aslkahuna

Posted
Posted

Although we've had wildfires here already, next month will be when we get to join Texas as we get the heat from Hell and obscenely low RH through May into June as the run up into the monsoon which Nature starts in early July on average (as opposed to when Phoenix NWS starts it) begins. Tight now most of our fires have been down by the border as a result of campfires started by illegals (the nights are still nippy). May and June is when the dry lightning and US Citizens start the fires in the high country.

Steve

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Srain

Srain

Posted
Posted

E-mail from Jeff:

100+ acre wildfire has developed just NW of Huntsville this afternoon west of I-45. Fire is burning rapidly SE on storng NW winds. All Walker County fire departments and Texas Forest Service helicopters are repsonding along with ground crews and containment doziers to cut fire lines. Two helicopters are conducting continous water drop operations on the SE flank of the fire. The fire is not contained at this time. Strong NW winds and RH of less than 20% is producing extremely critical fire weather conditions ripe for explosive fire growth. Smoke plume is noted on visible satellite images and 88D radar from Houston spreading SE over the Huntsville area.

Kimble County Fire: Massive wildfire developed this morning in western Kimble County west of Junction, TX. Evacuations are underway across the county along with several major roads and highways closed. Texas Forest Service has heavy air tankers dropping slurry and water on the fire along with numerous helicopters. Fire departments from numerous counties and cities are responding. Thousands of acres have burned and the fire remain uncontrolled and burning toward the south and southest in 20-35mph winds.

Horrible fire weather conditions remain in place across the entire region through mid evneing before winds begin to relax and RH recovers some. Until that time rapid wildfire growth will be possible with extreme fire behavior likely on strong winds.

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Srain

Srain

Posted
Posted

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

FIRE WARNING

KIMBLE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX

228 PM CDT FRI APR 29 2011

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE KIMBLE

COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

A MANDATORY EVACUATION HAS BEEN ORDERED FOR A PORTION OF KIMBLE

COUNTY WEST OF JUNCTION. THIS AREA EXTENDS FROM THE INTERESECTION

OF RANCH ROAD 1674 AND COUNTY ROAD 2731 EAST TO THE INTERSECTION

OF 1674 AND COUNTY ROAD 217...THEN SOUTH TO THE INTERSECTION OF

US 377 AND COUNTY ROAD 150 AND INTERSECTION OF US 377 AND HALL OF

FAME ROAD.

RESIDENTS WHO NEED SPECIAL ASSISSTANCE SHOULD CALL 911.

RESIDENTS SHOULD EVACUATE TO INGRAM HIGH SCHOOL AT 700 HIGHWAY 39

IN INGRAM TEXAS.

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Ed Lizard

Ed Lizard

Posted
Posted

Happy times in the Metroplex...

FLOOD ADVISORY

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX

1214 PM CDT MON MAY 2 2011

TXC085-097-113-121-147-181-439-021915-

/O.NEW.KFWD.FA.Y.0014.110502T1714Z-110502T1915Z/

/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

GRAYSON TX-COOKE TX-FANNIN TX-DENTON TX-COLLIN TX-TARRANT TX-

DALLAS TX-

1214 PM CDT MON MAY 2 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED AN

* URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR...

COLLIN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

EASTERN COOKE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

DALLAS COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

DENTON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

WESTERN FANNIN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

GRAYSON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

TARRANT COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

* UNTIL 215 PM CDT

* AT 1211 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONTINUED

TO DETECT AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL FROM THE METROPLEX NORTHWARD TO

THE RED RIVER. AVERAGE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS RANGED

FROM ONE TO TWO INCHES WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OVER 3 INCHES CLOSER TO

THE RED RIVER.

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Ed Lizard

Ed Lizard

Posted
Posted

Just takes one to start the next big fire...

...SWRN/W-CNTRL TX...FAR SERN NM...

ALONG A LEE TROUGH ACROSS THE SRN HIGH PLAINS AND ACROSS PARTS OF

THE FAR WRN TX MTNS...ISOLATED DRY TSTMS MAY FORM THIS AFTERNOON.

WEAK S/SELY LOW-LEVEL FLOW AHEAD OF THE TROUGH COUPLED WITH VERY

WARM TEMPERATURES SHOULD RESULT IN WEAK BUOYANCY. VERY LARGE SURFACE

DEW POINT DEPRESSIONS AND DEEP MIXING HEIGHTS WOULD SUPPORT

HIGH-BASED TSTMS WITH LITTLE WETTING RAINFALL. MODEST STORM MOTION

TO THE E ALONG WITH THE LACK OF STRONGER LARGE-SCALE FORCED ASCENT

SHOULD RESULT IN DRY TSTM COVERAGE REMAINING ISOLATED.

post-138-0-94499300-1304694517.gif

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Ed Lizard

Ed Lizard

Posted
Posted

Dickens County fire shows up well on FDR and DYX radars...

Edit to add- started yesterday, dry lightning...

http://www.kcbd.com/...88/massive-fire

A quickly spreading grass fire had burned 65,00-plus acres and was threatening several homes late Sunday in Dickens County.

More than 200 federal, state and local fire personnel were working on the Dickens County Complex fire burning between Spur, Dickens an Guthrie — about 75 miles east of Lubbock, according to the Texas Forest Service.

The 15-mile-long fire was moving east and northeast at a rate of two to three miles per hour and was being fueled by high winds, above average temperatures topping 100 degrees, low humidity and dry brush.

The fire was considered about 15 percent contained by 6 p.m. Sunday.

Flames were threatening about eight homes at the Devil’s Pitchfork Ranch in Central Dickens County and another house near Spur, said Justice Jones, a spokesman for the Texas Forest Service.

The fire was moving in the direction of the town of Guthrie, but a fire containment line had so far been successful at keeping the blaze from threatening the town by 6 p.m. Sunday, Jones said. Guthrie is located on U.S. 82 about 90 miles east of Lubbock.

U.S. Highway 82 in Dickens County was closed late Saturday through Sunday afternoon, Jones said.

No other roads were closed as of Sunday evening, he said, but officials were contemplating re-closing U.S. 82 if smoke resettled over the roadway.

The complex fire began late Friday as two separate wildfires — Edwards and Batch Camp — but burned together late Saturday night, according to the Forest Service.

Jones said Forest Service officials believe a lightning strike from a dry thunderstorm Friday evening caused the wildfires near Spur and Dickens. Along with several homes, an oil pipeline has also been threatened by the flames.

No homes had been damaged by late Sunday, Justice said, but it was unclear if the oil pipeline was damaged because the pipeline remained in the middle of the burn zone.

Severe to critical fire weather conditions were expected to continue through mid-week across the South Plains, Rolling Plains and much of West Texas, according to the National Weather Service in Lubbock.

http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2011-05-08/dickens-county-fire-threatens-homes-torches-65000-plus-acres

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Srain

Srain

Posted
Posted 
DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
220 PM CDT FRI MAY 13 2011

                ...DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT...

             ...RAIN FINALLY RETURNS TO SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

          ...EXCEPTIONAL AND EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXPAND
                        TOWARD THE COAST...

SYNOPSIS...
WIDESPREAD RAIN...LOCALLY HEAVY OVER THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE
REGION...FINALLY RETURNED TO SOUTHEAST TEXAS. RAINFALL TOTALS ON
THURSDAY MAY 12TH EXCEEDED TWO INCHES NORTHWEST OF A COLUMBUS TO
MADISONVILLE LINE. DESPITE THE RECENT RAIN...SOUTHEAST TEXAS REMAINS
IN AN EXTREME TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT AND RAINFALL DEFICITS SINCE
OCTOBER 1ST REMAIN IN DOUBLE DIGITS. HERE ARE SOME RAINFALL TOTALS
WHICH COMPARE YESTERDAYS RAINFALL WITH THE TOTAL RAINFALL FROM
OCTOBER 1ST THROUGH MAY 11TH.

LOCATION            10/1/10 -      THURSDAY
                   5/11/11        MAY 12 RAIN

BELLVILLE           6.98           1.17
BRENHAM             8.51           1.32
COLLEGE STN         6.26           1.96
COLUMBUS            8.57           1.30
CONROE             12.74           0.51
CROCKETT           15.93           0.67
DANEVANG           10.99           1.21+
GALVESTON          17.93           0.20
FREEPORT           11.50           0.53
HOU HOBBY          15.88           0.18#
HOUSTON            12.49           0.23
HUNTSVILLE          8.37           0.49
LIVINGSTON         12.18           NA
KATY                9.79           1.25
MADISONVILLE        7.19           0.86
MATAGORDA           8.86           0.85
NEW CANEY           NA             NA
SOMERVILLE          4.99           2.61!
TOMBALL             8.42           0.16
WASH ST PARK        8.04           1.03

+ DANEVANG RECEIVED 1.21 INCHES OF RAIN ON MAY 12TH. PRIOR TO THE
RAIN...THIS LOCATION HAD ONLY RECEIVED 0.69 INCHES OF RAIN OVER THE
LAST 100 DAYS.

# HOBBY AIRPORT IN HOUSTON RECEIVED MEASURABLE RAIN FOR THE FIRST
TIME SINCE MARCH 14TH. THE AIRPORT WENT 58 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITHOUT
MEASURABLE RAIN AND IS THE LONGEST SUCH STREAK IN AIRPORT HISTORY.
THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 46 DAYS WHICH OCCURRED IN NOVEMBER 1978.

! SOMERVILLE RECEIVED 2.61 INCHES OF RAIN ON THE 11TH. THIS
COMMUNITY HAD ONLY RECEIVED 4.99 INCHES OF RAIN SINCE OCTOBER 1ST.
IT TOOK 224 DAYS TO TALLY 4.99 INCHES OF RAIN AND ONE DAY TO PRODUCE
2.61 INCHES OF RAIN OR 53.3 PERCENT OF THE SEVEN MONTH TOTAL.

EVEN WITH THE HEAVY RAIN OVER PARTS OF THE REGION...IT IS STILL THE
DRIEST OCTOBER 1ST THROUGH MAY 12TH FOR COLLEGE STATION AND THE CITY
OF HOUSTON. GOOD NEWS FOR DANEVANG! THE HEAVY RAIN ON THURSDAY
MOVED THE 2011 TOTAL TO THE 8TH DRIEST IN RECORDED HISTORY.

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aslkahuna

aslkahuna

Posted
Posted

We've seen dewpoints as low as -11F here in Tucson this Spring as well and have had a number of wildfires including a big one near Portal in far eastern AZ. Almost all of the fires have been human caused and by far the most attributed to illegal border crossers building campfires at night.

Steve

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hiker

hiker

Posted
Posted

We've seen dewpoints as low as -11F here in Tucson this Spring as well and have had a number of wildfires including a big one near Portal in far eastern AZ. Almost all of the fires have been human caused and by far the most attributed to illegal border crossers building campfires at night.

Steve

Steve, or anyone,

I've never seen this brought up, but is it possible the BP oil spill and the dispersants utilized have contributed to the La Nina drought by reducing evaporation from the Gulf? From my understanding, surface tension would be reduced, but perhaps that only applies to hydrocarbons, not to H2O itself. Just speculating, here.

Hiker

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aslkahuna

aslkahuna

Posted
Posted

Steve, or anyone,

I've never seen this brought up, but is it possible the BP oil spill and the dispersants utilized have contributed to the La Nina drought by reducing evaporation from the Gulf? From my understanding, surface tension would be reduced, but perhaps that only applies to hydrocarbons, not to H2O itself. Just speculating, here.

Hiker

I don't think so. The reason I say that is this Drought has been going on in one form and area of coverage or another since 1996. While La Niña may be contributing right now, I think overall it's been another oscillations that've been the big factors.

Steve

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