Excessive Heat — Palo Doro Canyon, Texas

2023-06-21 · Palo Doro Canyon, Texas

Event narrative

A hiker fatality occurred (17 year old male) due to excessive heat in Palo

Duro Canyon State Park on the Lighthouse trail. Three

people were rescued from the trail around

1:45 PM according to reports from local

media where one hiker later died at local

hospital. The other 2 hikers recovered from

their injuries.

Wider weather episode

Abnormally high dewpoints lead to heat indices in Palo Duro Canyon reaching between 105 and 109 despite the ambient temperature being in the mid to upper 90s during the early part of the afternoon. This was when three hikers had to be rescued from the trails, with one of the hikers eventually passing away in the hospital.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1115533. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.