Yesterday will go down as a red-letter day in the history books of the Texas Panhandle with multiple, fast-moving wildfires. An unknown number of homes, businesses, and buildings have been destroyed. We’re unaware of any loss of life at this juncture, but the livestock losses will be devastating. At least 350,000 acres have been charred, which will likely increase as aerial surveillance is completed. Hundreds of firefighters, emergency workers, and forestry personnel are mobilizing.
Fire weather conditions will be tempered across the Texas Panhandle and West Texas today and most likely on Thursday, thanks to cooler temperatures, higher humidity, and comparatively lighter winds. We’ll start to see the risk increase on Friday, and another critical fire weather period is expected on Saturday, especially Sunday. The wildfire threat will include the western half of Texas on Sunday as strong winds, well-above-average temperatures, and arid conditions behind a dryline occur.
Gusty north winds will continue behind a southward-moving cold front across Texas this morning into this afternoon. Wind speeds will diminish this evening. Temperatures will be much cooler behind the cold front today, tonight, and Thursday across Texas. High temperatures will be in the 40s and 50s today, with 50s and 60s on Thursday—certainly not Arctic, but a substantial cool down after the 80s and 90s. Warm-weather fans need not worry. We’ll return to the 70s and 80s on Friday, with many 80s across Texas this weekend.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible today and tonight into Thursday across the western two-thirds of Texas. We’re not expecting a widespread soaking in that entire region. The best chance for around one-half inch of rain will be in the Borderland, Big Bend region, the Trans-Pecos, Guadalupe Mountains, and the Davis Mountains. Rainfall totals quickly fall to around one-tenth of an inch or less across the Permian Basin, West Texas, and the Texas Panhandle.
A bit of snow may mix in with the rain on Thursday in the Panhandle and West Texas. Little to no snow accumulation is expected. That will hopefully keep the fire danger in check tomorrow. Rain chances will start diminishing Thursday night into Friday morning. We should see a mostly dry weekend across Texas with April-like weather.
Our next storm system will bring strong winds to Texas on Sunday and a cool front Sunday night into Monday. Rain chances don’t look promising at this point.
My FREE & AWESOME weather app for radar/alerts/more: https://texasweather.app/
Prayers for the wind to die! They are fighting HELL
Dinero Aggie it died down about 1 this morning 🙏🏼 hoping they can get it under control now
Dinero https://sites.google.com/view/yjyugvuoiyg/home
Praying for that terrible situation
Forestry service is reporting 600,000 acres burning across several counties. To put into context, the Bastrop fires of 2011 covered 32,000 acres. I drove down Hwy 290 during the Bastrop fires and saw how huge and hellish they were, I cannot imagine what 600k acres looks like.
Brian Whitaker try fighting the Bastrop fire my volunteer department sent crews. It was a vision of hell. My son is on a dozer crew deployed to fight up there currently. There are so many big fires…
Brian Whitaker I remember the Bastrop fires and all the melted fences, animals left alive wandering the side of the road…
Joan Ivy I was doing blood drive in Bastrop during the aftermath. I’ll never forget what that looked like.
Brian Whitaker
March 2006 about the same area burned close to 1 million acres.
Yeah, I moved to Texas in 07 so missed that. Sounds like you have to be tough to live up there!
Joan Ivy, thank you, and thanks to your son, for doing what you can to help.
Sophia Potter-Gellman Yes, it was a sight. Prayers for all those afflicted by this disaster.
Joan Ivy the bastrop fire was wild! I can’t imagine 600 acres!
This is cattle country. All of the grazing land and hay has gone for these poor people and animals. Not sure on structure damage but the land alone is just devastating.
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Cathy Cooper https://sites.google.com/view/yjyugvuoiyg/Pless open this link 😭
🙏🙏🙏
Did it hit any towns directly? Still no real reports on that. Usually it doesn’t, but this seemed exceptionally bad.
Roy Waggoner many homes possibly 100 lost in Fritch.
I know there were homes lost in Canadian as well.
Marianne Taylor Wow, that’s bad!
Roy Waggoner it is! More details will come out with the daylight and ability to get back in those areas still blocked off. 😢
Sharing from Tye Sims:
Anyone who evacuated south on hwy 83, I have a big set of steel pens 3 mi south of wheeler sitting on west side of 83. Kick your horses in them. There’s water there and I can put some round bales of grass for them. Stay safe everyone! With this monster fire and north wind fixing to slam into it, looks to me like it’s going to send a 90 mile wide head fire south towards wheeler and gray counties! 806-336-7584 if anyone needs anything!
Currently just the Smokehouse Fire is over 500,000 acres with 0% contained. Pray for the firefighters.
Are Los Diablos deployed?
Marilyn Knapp https://sites.google.com/view/yjyugvuoiyg/home Pless open this link 😭
The Poplar Report
Jesse Watters
Donald Trump Jr.
NEWSMAX
Damian Jones
🙏🙏praying for rain
Prayers for everyone living in the area and also the firefighters!!! 😥
Donna https://sites.google.com/view/yjyugvuoiyg/Pless open this link 😭
💫🙏🏼💫
Alysa https://sites.google.com/view/gyuiygviygciygc/Pless open this link 😭
😀😀😀 good
Poor animals. Just trapped, burning alive because of evil humans.
Lauren https://sites.google.com/view/yjyugvuoiyg/home Pless open this link 😭
🙏🙏🙏
Yay!!!!
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for all you do!
praying for all
My daughter is helping fight the fires I pray for everyone safety , so much devastation
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻