That smoke over DFW this morning is from the Ross Fire, now at 80,000 acres. Burn bans are up to 197 of 254 counties — but we’re finally trending the right way on heat, rain and fire danger. It’s your Texas Weather Roundup for Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
THE SMOKE OVER NORTH TEXAS
A weak front brought northerly winds to parts of northern Texas this morning, and that pushed smoke into the DFW Metroplex and down toward Stephenville. If you’re smelling or seeing smoke, it’s most likely from the Ross Fire.
ROSS FIRE — 80,000 ACRES
The fire continued burning into late last night. Crews made a good stop on its northern progress as it reached Highway 380 east of Bryson in Jack County.
We’ll still be dealing with pockets of burning today as crews work on building containment lines on the eastern and western flanks and chase hot spots. This fire is far from over, but we should start seeing improvement.
197 BURN BANS
197 of 254 Texas counties are under a burn ban. That number may fluctuate over the next few days — some Panhandle areas picked up rain, so a few counties may lift theirs.
FIRE DANGER TODAY
Very High across North Texas, the Big Country, Texoma, Northeast Texas and East Texas. Not as extreme as the last couple of days, but still high even with northerly winds and a modest bump in humidity. Fuels remain critically dry, so it will still burn.
Thursday improves to Moderate to High statewide, with Low fire danger returning to the western half of Texas. Friday stays Moderate to High. Comparatively much better than the last week.
RAIN & STORMS TODAY
Isolated heavy rain and flooding are possible across western Texas and the South Plains this evening. A few storms with heavier rain are possible in North and Northeast Texas this afternoon and evening, and an isolated storm can’t be ruled out into Central Texas and the Hill Country.
Storm chances may run closer to scattered — a 30 to 50% chance — across eastern North Texas and Northeast Texas, and this evening in the South Plains. Some West Texas storms could produce pocket-change hail and damaging straight-line winds.
THURSDAY
The best chances shift to Central Texas, the Hill Country and the Brazos Valley, with rain possible in the Permian Basin. The Panhandle, western Texas and far Southeast Texas carry the relative highest chance of localized flooding.
Expect dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning, locally heavy rain and gusty winds. Where lightning occurs outside of rain, we’ll likely see new fire ignitions given how dry fuels are.
This is not a widespread severe weather setup. No widespread damaging winds, big hail or flooding. It’s pop-up, hit-and-miss activity — not everyone gets a gully washer.
THE PATTERN
The heat dome shifts west for a couple of days before re-emerging over Texas for the weekend. That gives us a day or two of better rain chances and slightly less heat before rain chances drop back off and temperatures stay hot.
Next week shows no big pattern changes, but the heat dome doesn’t look as intense. There’s no indication of a switch to a fall pattern — no major dips in the jet stream yet, and the upper-level storm systems currently in the Pacific Northwest aren’t over us.
RAIN TOTALS
Through 7 AM Monday, some folks may get over an inch — West Texas, the South Plains, the Rolling Plains, the Permian Basin, the Big Country, the Concho Valley, the Hill Country, east through Central Texas, the Brazos Valley, Southeast Texas and the eastern quarter of the state.
Storm chaser Blake Brown picked up two and a half inches on the south side of Amarillo last night, with localized flooding on I-40 for a few hours. There’s still moisture in the atmosphere — we just need the energy to squeeze it out.
TEMPERATURES
A substantial cool-off in the Panhandle: 91 in Amarillo, 93 in Pampa, 89 in Dalhart, 98 in Lubbock. The rest of the state stays in the upper 90s and triple digits, but more in the 99 to 104 range than 108 to 110.
Tonight, 60 in Dalhart, 66 from Amarillo to the Plains, 71 in Lubbock, 68 in Alpine, 80 in El Paso. Everyone else mostly in the 70s with 80s in the urban heat islands.
Thursday, 90s in the Panhandle and West Texas, around 100 from Wichita Falls to DFW, 96 in Texarkana, 98 in Tyler, 100 in Lufkin and Waco, 102 in Austin and Bryan-College Station, 100 in San Antonio and Houston.
Friday brings more 90s than triple digits. Saturday into Sunday warms modestly again.
We’ll be watching the Ross Fire, any new starts, and storms as they ramp up this afternoon and evening.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Improving Trend, But Still Issues
0:43 197 Counties Under Burn Bans
1:29 Smoke Over DFW & the Ross Fire
2:10 Today’s Rain & Storm Chances
3:00 Thursday’s Better Chances
4:22 Heat Dome Backs Off
6:01 Rain Totals Through Monday
7:31 Temperatures: Panhandle Cools Off
9:19 Fire Danger Finally Improving
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