Forecast Discussion for Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
178
FXUS64 KFWD 122356
AFDFWD
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
656 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026
...New UPDATE, AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Hot and dry conditions will persist into the weekend with an
increasing threat for wildfire activity across the region.
- Little to no rainfall is expected in the next 7 days.
&&
.UPDATE...
Issued at 655 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026
Other than lowering dewpoints through tomorrow evening, no large-
scale changes were made to this evening`s forecast. Even with
breezy winds and efficient mixing, afternoon heat indices were
still able to climb above 105 for a good portion of North Texas
and more sporadically in Central Texas. Looking ahead to tomorrow,
slightly lower dewpoints will aid in keeping heat indices closer
to between 100-106. While the NBM is usually too moist in the
afternoons, the majority of guidance mixes our East Texas counties
out a bit too much compared to actual observations. Because of
that, there is a good chance that some areas observe heat indices
at or above 105+ even if the official grids show slightly lower
values. Ultimately, we have expanded the Heat Advisory for
tomorrow eastward, encompassing all of North Texas near/north of
I-20.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(This evening through Thursday)
Issued at 1241 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026
Hot and dry conditions will continue through Thursday as the upper
level ridge remains anchored to our east, but extends west across
North and Central Texas. Breezy winds of 10-20 mph with gusts of
20-30 mph will continue through Thursday. Overnight lows tonight
will be similar to this morning, but afternoon highs tomorrow will
be an average of 1 degree warmer. Several locations in North Texas
are touching Heat Advisory criteria at this hour, but a Heat
Advisory has been issued only for 4 of our northwestern counties
for the remainder of today through 8 pm Thursday due to ambient
temperatures around 103 degrees and heat index values around 105
degrees. Even though there will be a breeze during this period,
and RH values will be below 25-30% percent, impacts to those
working outside for extended periods of time will still be able to
occur quickly. Even without a Heat Advisory, the main message is:
It`s still summer, it`s still hot outside, please take
precautions if you must be outdoors.
An elevated threat for grass and wildfires will exist the rest of
today and again on Thursday afternoon, largely for locations along
and west of Highway 281, but also including areas along and west
of I-35/35W. Conditions look to stay just below Red Flag Warning
criteria but this will be reassessed over the next 12-16 hours. At
the very least, a Grassfire Danger Statement will likely be
issued.
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Thursday night through next Tuesday)
Issued at 1241 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026
An upper level disturbance will move around the southwestern
periphery of the upper level ridge, along the TX/MX border from
Thursday through Saturday. Unfortunately the ridge looks to hold
its influence over the region, and this feature likely won`t
bring any rain chances to us. However, moisture will increase a
little bit across the region on Friday with some added cloud
coverage. This may knock temperatures down a little bit across
Central Texas, and heat index values will need to be looked at
again, for a possible Heat Advisory. In addition, there`s a low
chance (095-100>107-
115>123.
&&
$$
SHORT TERM...JLDunn
LONG TERM....JLDunn
AVIATION...Prater
NWS FWD Office Area Forecast Discussion
