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Chatom, Alabama

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Chatom census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36518. It stands on Beaver Dam Creek. The Survey maps it on the Chatom quadrangle. 1,104 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 210 feet above sea level.

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Chatom within Washington County

Population over time

3 figures

Chatom fell from 1,193 to 1,104 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20001,193
20101,288+95 (+8%)
20201,104-184 (-14%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

105 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 105 fires within 5 miles of Chatom between 1994 and 2020, burning about 1,838 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 28 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning33
Missing data/not specified/undetermined31
Arson/incendiarism28
Recreation and ceremony5
Smoking5
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
21 September 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
21 September 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
10 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
1 September 1995Smoking1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20180809-1
28 August 2019Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20190828-1
27 August 2000Arson/incendiarism80 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
15 July 2006Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Chatom: 1 producer, 1 plant. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Sulfur. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Chatom PlantSulfurPlant
County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

32 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chatom in 32 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 18 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 5 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2003HailChatom$1,400,000Golfball to Tennis Ball sized hail fell between Chatom and Wagarville. Numerous automobiles and roofs were damaged by the large hail. Two automobile dealerships in Chatom sustained major damage to their automobile inventory.
December 2002Thunderstorm WindChatom$80,000High winds from a thunderstorm caused roof damage to a couple of businesses in Chatom. The most significant damage occurred at an automobile dealership. Part of the roof at the dealership was peeled off and some of the debris damaged several new vehicles that were parked outside. The high winds also blew down a couple of trees and power lines.
February 2004LightningChatom$50,000Lightning struck a manufactured home and started a fire. The home burned down before the fire could be put out. No one was injured.
December 1996LightningChatom$50,000no account filed
January 1997LightningChatom$30,000no account filed
January 2008Thunderstorm WindChatom$12,000no account filed
December 2007Thunderstorm WindChatom$12,000no account filed
April 2002Thunderstorm WindChatom$10,000Trees and power lines were blown down near Chatom as a line of thunderstorms moved through the area.
January 2001Thunderstorm WindChatom$10,000High thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in the community.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindChatom$10,000High winds blew several trees down from north of Chatom to north of Wagarville.
February 1996Thunderstorm WindChatom$10,000no account filed
February 2016Thunderstorm WindChatom$5,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed power lines along Frank Scruggs Road.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindChatom$5,000Winds estimated at 60 mph blew a tree limb into a trailer on Highway 56. Numerous power outages were also reported in the area.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindChatom$5,000Trees and power lines were blown down in and around Chatom as a thunderstorm moved through the county.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindChatom$5,000Several trees and power lines were blown down in Chatom.
May 1997LightningChatom$5,000Lightning struck a house in Chatom and caused it to catch on fire.
November 1997Thunderstorm WindChatom$2,500Trees and power lines were blown down just west of Chatom.
November 1995Thunderstorm WindChatom$2,000Trees and power lines were blown down west of Chatom.
April 1997LightningChatom$1,000Lightning struck near the courthouse in Chatom. Several radios and computers in the courthouse suffered damage as a result of the strike.
April 1995Thunderstorm WindChatom$1,000Several trees and power lines were blown down in the Chatom area.
April 1995Thunderstorm WindChatom$500Several trees were blown down along Highway 45, five miles southwest of Chatom. Lightning struck a house in Chatom. The house caught fire and was destroyed.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindChatom-High winds downed multiple trees.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindChatom-High winds caused damage to a roof in Chatom.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindChatom-Highway 45 closed near Chatom due to trees and power lines down across the road.
May 2001HailChatom-Dime size hail was reported near Chatom. A funnel cloud was also observed. The funnel never touched down and quickly dissipated.
April 1997HailChatom-Dime size hail was reported near Chatom.
April 1997HailChatom-Dime size hail fell in Chatom.
November 1997HailChatom-Dime size hail was reported in Chatom.
May 2024HailChatom-no account filed
May 2003HailChatom-no account filed
August 2003HailChatom-no account filed
June 2002HailChatom-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washington County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Jordan2.8 miles12
Rutan3.9 miles14
Carpenter5.4 miles12
Hobson5.4 miles14
Yarbo5.6 miles12
Ellisville6.0 miles12
Laton Hill6.2 miles11
Tibbie7.1 miles14

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ChatomAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q67150The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 115982. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.