New wildfires flaring up in Texas as drought worsens

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Texas Forest Service responds to 224 new fires in the past week

Texas Waco fire Texas fires 2011

Firefighters outlined by the flames at the Waco Fire in Texas. PHOTO COURTESY MARY K. HICKS.

Texas wildfires map.

Major wildfires are burning all around Texas as summer winds down. Click on the map to visit the live interactive version at the Texas Interagency Coordination Center.

By Summit Voice

Sept. 14 update:

Weather may bring some relief to parts of the drought-stricken state

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Texas Forest Service officials said Tuesday that, by their latest count, almost 2,000 homes have been destroyed by wildfires since Labor Day weekend in central and east Texas. In the past week, the agency has responded to a total of 127 fires burning on about 9,000 acres.

Since the holiday weekend, aircraft have flown for more than 1,800 hours and dropped more than 5.5 million gallons of water and retardant. Six heavy airtankers, three water scoopers, 15 single-engine airtankers, four C-130 MAFFS airtankers, 13 helicopters and 17 air attack aircraft and lead planes are being utilized. Eleven Texas Army National Guard Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters from San Antonio, Austin and Grand Prairie have been crucial in the fight as well.

The latest drought monitor shows 95 percent of the state in extreme drought, with 81 percent in exceptional drought . Seasonal outlooks continue to indicate drying throughout the fall, so the drought is expected to worsen.

Labor Day update:

SUMMIT COUNTY — With no relief in sight for drought-stricken Texas, new wildfires are erupting around the state, including the 6,600-acre Ranch Fire, in Palo Pinto County, which has destroyed at least 39 homes and several RVs. Another fire in Wise County is threatening 200 homes, and the Crab Prairie Fire has burned two homes. An overview of the fire is available at Inciweb.

About 80 percent of Texas is now classified as being under severe to extreme drought conditions and the long-term outlook calls for continued dryness, with above-normal temperatures at least through autumn. Wildfires have burned across 3.52 million acres in the state — the worst wildfire ever for the Lone Star state. Six of the state’s 10 largest wildfires burned in April 2011 and 20 of the largest 40 on record have burned during this year. More info online here. (more…)

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Climate: July the 4th-hottest on record for U.S.

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A yin-yang pattern of temperatures across the U.S. added up to the fourth-hottest month on record. Click to visit NOAA's climate at a glance page.

South-central heat outweighs record coolness in Pacific Northwest

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. was feeling the heat in July, as the average temperature across the country soared 2.7 degrees above the long-term average. The 77-degree reading was the fourth-warmest July on record and also the fourth-warmest month ever for the U.S.

The near-record reading resulted from extremely high temperatures in the south-central part of the country, where Texas and Oklahoma both reported their warmest-ever months. Across Oklahoma, the temperature averaged a blistering 88.9 degrees, with Texas just a few degrees lower, at 87.1 degrees. The Oklahoma reading surpassed the old record by 0.8 degrees, set in July 1954, according to the July summary from the National Climatic Data Center.  (more…)

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Tropical Storm Don spurs watches along Texas coast

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Tropical Storm Don takes aim at Texas.

Coastal areas could see near-hurricane conditions Saturday morning

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — If it stays on course for the next 48 hours, Tropical Storm Don could be a drought-busting storm for parts of the south-central plains, especially Texas, that are experiencing historic dryness. Rainfall is 10 or move inches below average for the past year across parts of the area, So Don’s moisture could bring some relief an help firefighters who have been battling the biggest fires ever reported in Texas.

Tropical Storm Don is currently located of the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and is expected to strengthen over the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But for now, forecast models are holding Don at tropical storm strength until just before it makes landfall. The forecast discussion from the National Hurricane Center discusses the possibility of additional strengthening just before the storm hits the coast. Tropical storm watches have been issued for large parts of the coast. (more…)

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Climate: 4,000 record highs set during June across the U.S.

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Texas drought intensifies; only the West was cooler than average

Parts of southern New Mexico experienced record heat and drought during June, 2011.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — June was hot across most of the country, as almost 4,000 daily high-temperature records were broken, mostly east of the Rockies. According to the monthly summary from the National Climatic Data Center, 159 locations reported record highs for June, while another 42 reported all-time record highs for any month of the year. You can find all the record highs at the NCDC’s Monthly Records web-page.

Amarillo, Texas hit an all-time high temperature with a reading of 111 degrees on June 26, breaking the previous record of 109 degrees, set just two days previously. Tallahassee, Florida also recorded an all-time high of 105 degrees on June 15, while Raton, New Mexico recorded 102 degrees to beat its previous record high by two full degrees.

The average temperature across the country for June was 70.7 degrees, which is 1.4 degrees warmer than the long-term average. June precipitation across the country was 2.48 inches, about .41 inches below the average, with great variability in different locations. (more…)

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