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Alvarado, Texas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Alvarado census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76009. The Survey maps it on the Alvarado quadrangle. 4,739 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 764 feet above sea level.

Alvarado within Johnson County

Population over time

2 figures

Alvarado grew from 3,785 to 4,739 between 2010 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
20103,785
20204,739+954 (+25%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 16 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

87 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 87 fires within 5 miles of Alvarado between 2005 and 2011, burning about 205 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined51
Debris and open burning28
Equipment and vehicle use5
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Arson/incendiarism1
Smoking1

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
6 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
2 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
7 August 2009Railroad operations and maintenance5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR 401
7 August 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
6 August 2006Debris and open burning13 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
4 August 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
4 August 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
30 August 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Service09-000365

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Johnson County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Alvarado: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica. 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
Rayburn Sand PitSand and Gravel, Construction, SilicaProducer

Every working recorded in Johnson County

Storms near this place

51 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alvarado in 51 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 22 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 5 tornado. The reports record 4 injuries. 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
April 2011Tornado (EF1)Alvarado2 hurt, $100,000There was a brief tornado touchdown in the city of Alvarado, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 35W and Highway 67. A mobile home was overturned resulting in 2 minor injuries. The Equine Vet Building and 4 other commercial buildings sustained damage. This tornado has been rated an EF-1 with estimated maximum wind speeds of 90 mph.
May 2001Tornado (F1)Alvarado1 hurt, $100,000A tornado touched down 2 miles southeast of Alvarado and moved northeast 2.8 miles then lifting 3 miles east of Alvarado. One person sustained head injuries from flying debris. Two mobile homes were destroyed and one heavily damaged, a house was unroofed, a workshop was destroyed, and numerous trees and power lines were blown down
May 2004Thunderstorm WindAlvarado1 hurt, $80,000Three mobile homes were destroyed by high winds in the Lillian area near the intersection of FM 917 and CR 2738. One person was injured.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$300,000Straight-line winds resulted in the collapse of a wall of the Medicine Chest Pharmacy in Alvarado near North Cummings Dr. and Highway 67. Straight-line winds also damaged signs, power poles, and a bank drive-through in the same general area. A light pole was knocked down at Charles Head Stadium, a field goal post was bent, and the track was damaged at the facilities. The American Red Cross reported that 38 homes were damaged in Alvarado and three of these homes were destroyed.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$200,000Six air conditioning units were blown from the roof of an elementary school, causing extensive damage to gas and electrical lines as well as the roof itself. At a nearby high school, a tree was blown down and several windows were blown out. Sheet metal was also blown loose. A roof was blown off of an apartment building, and a sign was bent at a nearby auto dealership. A few manufactured homes northeast of town lost roofs, walls, shingles, and suffered water damage.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$100,000Emergency management reported shingle damage on multiple homes across several neighborhoods on the north side of Alvarado. Additional reports of fence damage was also received. The swath of scattered wind damage extended to the northwest of Venus, south of the path of a tornado and likely associated with strong winds in the RFD.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$50,000Report of a roof removed from a home in Alvarado.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$50,000There were numerous reports of trees, power lines, and buildings blown down by high winds.
August 1994Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$50,000Storage buildings, trees, and power lines were blown down.
December 2006Tornado (F0)Alvarado$40,000The National Weather Service in Fort Worth conducted a damage survey and found that a tornado formed about 3 miles north of Alvarado. The tornado damaged a shed and caused roof and window damage to several structures along CR 604, east of the Happy Hill community, before dissipating.
April 2005HailAlvarado$25,000Quarter size hail damaged area roofs and vehicles. Several homeowners reported losses.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$20,000Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down in Alvarado.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$20,000Minor roof damage was reported at the Longhorn Grill on Parkway Ave. A 30 foot section of the metal roof was peeled off and water damage was reported to the inside of the building.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$15,000Roof and structural damage to metal roofing; mailboxes blown over.
January 2017Flash FloodAlvarado$10,000Northbound 35W closed at HWY 67 due to flooding. Several cars stuck in high water.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$10,000Wind removed the roof from a house.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$10,000A garage was destroyed by high winds.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$5,000Sixty mph winds were estimated in Alvarado.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$3,000A sheet metal roof of a fast food restaurant was blown off. Some trees were blown down as well.
August 1995Thunderstorm WindAlvarado$2,000A barn was blown down by high winds.
April 2017HailAlvarado$1,000Quarter size hail reported in Alvarado.
October 2015Flash FloodAlvarado$1,000Several county roads were closed due to water including: CR 423, CR 607 at the bridge, and CR 509.
April 2023HailAlvarado-Emergency management reported quarter sized hail 1 mile south of Alvarado, TX.
August 2022Flash FloodAlvarado-Texas DPS reported that northbound lanes of Interstate 35W near the intersection of Highway 67 were closed due to high water.
March 2018HailAlvarado-Dime to penny sized hail was reported by a broadcast meteorologist near the city of Alvarado, TX.
January 2017HailAlvarado-Trained spotter reports 1 inch hail at the intersection of CR 607 and CR 917.
January 2017Thunderstorm WindAlvarado-A trained spotter located in Alvarado reported a 70 mph wind gust.
April 2017HailAlvarado-A public report indicated ping pong ball sized hail at Alvarado Junior High School.
April 2016Flash FloodAlvarado-CR 509 between CRs 505 and 508 was closed due to flooding.
May 2015Flash FloodAlvarado-Broadcast media reported that widespread flooding was occurring across the eastern part of the county; especially along HWY 157.
February 2013HailAlvarado-Nickel sized hail was reported in Alvarado.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindAlvarado-Measured from a school's weather-net observation.
April 2005Tornado (F0)Alvarado-Tornado touched down briefly. No damage reported.
April 2005HailAlvarado-Three inch deep hail covering the ground, ranging from pea to quarter size.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindAlvarado-State trooper on Interstate 35 near Alvarado reported wind gusts to 80 mph.
December 1997Flash FloodAlvarado-Numerous roads across the eastern portion of the county remained closed due to high water.
April 1994Tornado (F0)Alvarado-A brief tornado touchdown was reported just west of Alvarado.
May 2008HailAlvarado-no account filed
April 2003HailAlvarado-no account filed
April 2002HailAlvarado-no account filed
April 2002HailAlvarado-no account filed
March 2000HailAlvarado-no account filed
May 2000HailAlvarado-no account filed
March 1999HailAlvarado-no account filed
April 1999HailAlvarado-no account filed
April 1996HailAlvarado-no account filed
April 1996HailAlvarado-no account filed
April 1996HailAlvarado-no account filed
March 1995HailAlvarado-no account filed
May 1994HailAlvarado-no account filed
May 1993HailAlvarado-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Johnson 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
Happy Hill4.5 miles16
Pleasant Point5.5 miles16
Egan5.7 miles16
The Homesteads5.7 miles16
Keene6.0 miles16
Venus6.1 miles17
Antioch6.5 miles15
Marystown6.8 miles16

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 AlvaradoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q448358The 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 1329475. 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.