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Big Lake, Texas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Big Lake census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76932. The Survey maps it on the Big Lake quadrangle. 2,965 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,690 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Big Lake within Reagan County

Population over time

3 figures

Big Lake grew from 832 to 2,965 between 1930 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
1930832
20102,936
20202,965+29 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 8 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

16 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Big Lake between 2006 and 2020, burning about 1,788 acres in total. 2 started naturally. None 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/undetermined11
Natural2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
3 August 2019Railroad operations and maintenance50 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceRAILROAD TRACKS
1 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined200 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCHICO LANE
29 July 2019Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceADOBE RANCH
9 June 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceROCKER B RANCH
24 June 2019Natural50 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceROCKER B RANCH
16 March 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
16 March 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
27 February 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Reagan County

Storms near this place

60 of 92 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Lake in 92 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 54 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 17 flash flood, 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2008HailBig Lake$10,000Half dollar to golfball sized hail was reported by police in Big Lake.
April 2008HailBig Lake$10,000Half dollar sized hail was reported by police in Big Lake.
April 2002HailBig Lake$10,000Broke windows out of a residence near the intersection of Highways 137 and 1537.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBig Lake$7,000A thunderstorm moved over Reagan County and produced a 70 mph wind gust in Big Lake. The wind blew the roof off of the Mustang Inn. The cost of the damage is a rough estimate.
September 2018Flash FloodBig Lake$5,000Heavy rain fell across Reagan County and produced flash flooding north of Big Lake. There was significant flooding on State Highway 137 north of Big Lake. Vehicles were stalled and water was running in the bar ditches and pastures. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBig Lake$1,000Damaging thunderstorm winds blew a garage down north-northwest of Big Lake.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindBig Lake$1,000Minor roof damage and trees blown down.
June 2015Flash FloodBig Lake$200A line of thunderstorms moved across Reagan County and produced significant flooding in the city of Big Lake. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A dry microburst under a decaying thunderstorm anvil caused winds up to 60 mph, which was recorded by the Mesonet station 64 Big Lake.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A dry microburst under a decaying thunderstorm anvil caused a 58 mph wind gust at the AWOS station KE41 Big Lake.
April 2025HailBig Lake-A report of penny sized hail was received from mPING near Big Lake. Time is estimated from radar.
April 2025HailBig Lake-A report of hen egg size hail was received from mPING.
April 2025HailBig Lake-Ping pong to golf ball size hail observed on the road from storm chaser footage north of Big Lake.
October 2025Flash FloodBig Lake-Reagan County Sheriff's Office reported flash flooding along a few streets in the community of Big Lake. The total time of occurrence is partially estimated from radar. No damage was reported.
October 2025HailBig Lake-Reagan County Sheriff's Office reported half dollar-size hail in Big Lake. The total time of occurrence is partially estimated from radar.
May 2024HailBig Lake-This report was from mPING.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm produced a 60 mph wind gust at the Big Lake AWOS site.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm produced a 61 mph wind gust as measured by the mesonet by Big Lake.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm produced a 58 mph wind gust near Big Lake.
April 2019HailBig Lake-Time was estimated from the radar, and the report was relayed by local media via Twitter.
June 2017Tornado (EF0)Big Lake-A thunderstorm moved across Reagan County and produced a brief landspout. This landspout was observed in an open field just east of State Highway 137 roughly 20 to 25 miles north of Big Lake. There was no damage reported so it was rated as an EF-0.
June 2017Tornado (EF0)Big Lake-A thunderstorm moved across Reagan County and produced a landspout. The landspout was observed in open country and no damage was reported so it was rated as an EF-0.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm moved across Reagan County and produced a wind gust of 58 mph one mile west southwest of Big Lake.
February 2016Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm moved across Reagan County and produced a 66 mph wind gust near Big Lake.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-The public reported a thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 60-70 mph in Big Lake.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm moved across Reagan County and produced a 62 mph wind gust as recorded by the mesonet.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm moved across Reagan County and produced a 60 mph wind gust at the Pilot Travel Center in Big Lake.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm moved over Reagan County and produced a 60 mph wind gust in Big Lake. No damage was reported.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-A thunderstorm moved over Reagan County and produced a 60 mph wind gust 26 miles north northeast of Big Lake.
April 2012HailBig Lake-A storm moved over Reagan County and produced at least quarter sized hail twenty-five miles north northeast of Big Lake. A COOP observer reported a fifteen inch hail drift with quarter sized hail present about 24 hours after the storm. Leaves were stripped off the trees.
April 2012HailBig Lake-A line of storms moved through Reagan County and produced golfball sized hail and 60 mph winds in Big Lake. The trained spotter reported tree branches on the ground.
April 2008HailBig Lake-Half dollar to golfball sized hail was reported by police in Big Lake.
May 2007Flash FloodBig Lake-Many low water crossings in Big Lake had water flowing up to one foot deep from heavy rainfall.
April 2006HailBig Lake-Quarter size hail fell on Farm to Market Road 33 between Big Lake and Garden City.
May 2006HailBig Lake-Nickel to quarter size hail fell at the intersection of Texas Highway 137 and Farm to Market Road 1357.
May 2006HailBig Lake-Quarter size hail fell one mile east of the North Reagan Fire Station on Farm to Market Road 1357.
June 2005HailBig Lake-Local law enforcement and fire department officials reported nickel size hail east of Big Lake along U.S. Highway 67.
May 2005Flash FloodBig Lake-Law enforcement officials in Big Lake reported that flash flooding resulted in high water flowing through several city streets. At 06:00 CST, water was reportedly up to the doors on several vehicles. Water flowed over the curbs on many streets. By 08:40 CST nearly six inches of water flowed over Farm to Market Road 1676 just south of U.S. Highway 67.
May 2005HailBig Lake-Scattered convection developed over the Trans Pecos region and propagated northeast over the southeastern Permian Basin of west Texas on the evening of the 7th. An isolated storm became severe during the late evening hours and produced penny size hail just east of Big Lake.
August 2005Flash FloodBig Lake-Roads in Big Lake were inundated by flood waters along with Texas Highway 137 south of Big Lake.
August 2005Flash FloodBig Lake-Portions of Texas Highway 137 were inundated by flood waters between Stiles and the North Reagan Fire Station. The public also reported that streets in Big Lake were flooded.
July 2005HailBig Lake-Quarter size hail and damaging thunderstorm winds were observed 27 miles north-northwest of Big Lake.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-Hail was reported on Farm to Market Road 1676.
May 2004HailBig Lake-Severe thunderstorm wind gusts were reported on Highway 137.
June 2004Flash FloodBig Lake-The intersection of Farm to Market Road 1676 and U.S. Highway 67 was inundated by flowing flood waters.
August 2004HailBig Lake-Hail was reported on U.S. Highway 67.
September 2003Flash FloodBig Lake-Flash flooding resulted in Highway 137 being inundated by high water, resulting in the highway becoming impassable.
October 2003Flash FloodBig Lake-Flash flooding resulted in the intersection of Highways 67 and 137 being closed due to high water.
September 2003Flash FloodBig Lake-Flash flooding resulted in high water flowing over Farm to Market Road 2401.
October 2002Flash FloodBig Lake-The Texas DOT reported Farm to Market Road 2600 was closed in the northern parts of Reagan County due to flash flooding.
June 2001HailBig Lake-Dime to quarter size hail was reported in the city of Big Lake. This produced some minor roof damage.
February 2000Tornado (F0)Big Lake-Tornado reported half way between Midkiff and the North Reagan Fire Department. No damage path was ever found.
November 2000Flash FloodBig Lake-Flooding was reported in low water crossings on Highway 137.
June 2000Flash FloodBig Lake-Scattered thunderstorms organized into a line of slow moving strong thunderstorms during the evening of June 9. This line of thunderstorms, extended from south central portions of Howard County across the eastern half of Glasscock County, and then into Reagan, Pecos, and Terrell counties. Reagan County was hardest hit, where 6 and 8 inches of rainfall occurred in a few hours. Flooding in Reagan County was reported along Highway 137 and Highway 33. One motorist became stranded in rising water on Centralia Draw in a transport truck during the night, making a helicopter rescue necessary.
June 2000Flash FloodBig Lake-The Reagan County Sheriff's Office reported flooding on United States Highway 67 west of Big Lake. Roads were barricaded until flooding subsided.
March 1998HailBig Lake-A thunderstorm dropped 3/4 inch hail at Big Lake with hail in 4-6 inch drifts about 4 miles south of town.
September 1996Flash FloodBig Lake-Flooding was reported along State Highway 137 north of Big Lake.
April 1994HailBig Lake-The Reagan County Sheriff's Office reported dime-size hail on Highway 137 about one mile north of Big Lake.
May 1993HailBig Lake-The Reagan County Sheriff's Office reported dime-size hail in southwestern Reagan County. No damage resulted.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindBig Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Reagan 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
Witco6.6 miles8
Best8.8 miles7
Four Corner Windmill10.1 miles7
Santa Rita (historical)10.7 miles7
Texon12.4 miles7
Stiles15.9 miles7
Crossroads26.9 miles7

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 Big LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q859014The 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 1352089. 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.

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.