Wildfire — Hemphill, Texas

2023-08-31 · Hemphill, Texas

Event narrative

Wildfire caused by lawn equipment managed to spread to 1957 acres in about 6 hours.

Wider weather episode

Hot conditions continued for the eastern Panhandles as we had another day of near triple digit heat. Additionally, a lee surface low set up east of the Rockies. The low would support breezy southwest winds 15 to 20 mph across much of the Panhandles. This heat and lower humidity around 20 percent, and the winds were enough to cause some issues when a fire was sparked by lawn equipment. This fire started at 2:15pm and was contained by 7 pm that evening.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1138667. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.