Owassa, Alabama
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Evergreen census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36401. It stands on Tomley Creek. The Survey maps it on the Evergreen quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 7 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1953 USGS Andalusia quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Andalusia quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Evergreen quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Andalusia quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
177 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 177 fires within 5 miles of Owassa between 1994 and 2020, burning about 1,474 acres in total. 4 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 burning | 66 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 28 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 17 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 9 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 September 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 September 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 September 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 14 September 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Owassa: 11 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Storms near this place
9 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Owassa in 9 storm reports between 1997 and 2022: 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 tornado. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owassa | $15,000 | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Owassa | $10,000 | A weak tornado blew down several trees near Owassa and I-65. The weak tornado stayed on the ground for about a half mile before going back into the clouds. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Owassa | $10,000 | Baseball size hail was reported near Owassa. Some damage to vehicles was reported. |
| October 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owassa | $5,000 | High winds from a thunderstorm blew down several trees near Owassa. |
| February 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owassa | $2,000 | High winds downed trees and power lines along CR 22. |
| January 2022 | Tornado (EF0) | Owassa | - | The tornado first touched down on the west side of I-65 at the Owassa|Exit and crossed the interstate. The only damage noted in the area was|to some fencing on the west side of I-65, however, surveillance video|from a nearby gas station showed a very narrow funnel in contact with|the ground that moved across the interstate before briefly lifting. The |tornado touched down again on Wilcox Rd, producing minor tree damage and |damaging a tin roof on a nearby structure. It is possible the tornado |produced sporadic minor damage between the interstate and this final point. |
| March 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owassa | - | High winds downed trees on Highway 29. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owassa | - | Severe thunderstorm wind gusts downed tress on I-65 near the Owassa community. |
| March 2001 | Hail | Owassa | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownville | 2.4 miles | 7 | |
| Wilcox | 3.1 miles | 8 | |
| Evergreen | 4.3 miles | 7 | |
| Lyeffion | 4.5 miles | 8 | |
| Rabb | 4.6 miles | 7 | |
| China | 5.0 miles | 8 | |
| Flat Rock | 5.3 miles | 7 | |
| Cooks Crossroads | 5.7 miles | 8 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q122555160 | The 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 155183. 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.



