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Cotulla, Texas

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 2002. It stands in the Cotulla census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78014. The Survey maps it on the Cotulla quadrangle. 3,718 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 427 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Cotulla within La Salle County

On record in Cotulla

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Cotulla grew from 3,603 to 3,718 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
20103,603
20203,718+115 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 10 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

152 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 152 fires within 5 miles of Cotulla between 2006 and 2019, burning about 1,810 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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 burning93
Missing data/not specified/undetermined29
Equipment and vehicle use10
Railroad operations and maintenance6
Smoking5
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Arson/incendiarism2
Recreation and ceremony1

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
5 September 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceMADISON POINTE
4 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined125 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceFM 469 3 MILES FROM FM 468
30 September 2013Debris and open burning1.5 acresTexas A & M Forest Service35 GRASSFIRE
19 September 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceAVANT HWY97
15 September 2011Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceMM72 W SIDE
14 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGUADALUPE FIRE
14 September 2013Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCITY WATER TOWER
9 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceMILE MARKER 62

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in La Salle County

Storms near this place

46 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cotulla in 46 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 22 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 8 flash flood, 2 flood. 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
March 2023HailCotulla$300,000La Salle County Sheriff's Office reported hail damage to cars, including broken windshields, in Cotulla from hail up to the size of softballs. The large hail broke windows in several homes.
October 2013FloodCotulla$50,000Major flooding along the Nueces River occurred near Cotulla. Some farm and ranch equipment were flooded. Cattle were cut off by the flood waters also.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindCotulla$24,000Two tractor trailers blown over 5 SSW of town (estimated on I-35).
April 2016HailCotulla$20,000Ping pong ball sized hail occurred in Cotulla causing damage to plants. Images relayed to the NWS through Facebook.
April 2016HailCotulla$10,000Quarter sized hail occurred at the Big's Travel Center near Interstate 35 in Cotulla.
June 2007Flash FloodCotulla$10,000TXDOT reported a large section of F.M. 624 in rural southeastern La Salle county closed due to flooding. A culvert along 624 was washed out due to the heavy rain. The road remained closed into the next day.|
July 2018Thunderstorm WindCotulla$5,000Business signs and power lines were blown down near Interstate 35 in Cotulla.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindCotulla$1,000Thunderstorm wind damage report in Cotulla of chance fencing blown down at the Tx DOT facility.
May 2025Heavy RainCotulla-Observed 1.19. The period of the Rain event was 30 minutes.
April 2024HailCotulla-Trained spotter reported quarter size hail in Cotulla.
April 2023HailCotulla-Public reported through social media that golf ball sized hail occurred in Cotulla.
August 2022Flash FloodCotulla-Farm to Market Road 624 southeast of Cotulla had flood waters covering the road.
May 2015FloodCotulla-The Nueces River crested at 20.63 feet at Cotulla on the 23rd but was in major flood category from the 22nd to the 30th. The flooding caused several roads around Cotulla to be closed. The frontage road on Interstate 35 near the KOA campground was closed. Farm to Market Road 3408 and Valley Wells Road were closed.
April 2015HailCotulla-Picture received via social media of at least quarter sized hail in Cotulla. Time estimated by radar.
October 2013Flash FloodCotulla-Road closures along portions of Texas Highway 97 and Farm to Market Road 624 in Cotulla with 2 feet of water moving over the roads.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Numerous large tree limbs were snapped throughout the city of Cotulla.
March 2006HailCotulla-Quarter-size hail reported in Cotulla as well as in Los Angeles from same storm.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindCotulla-63 mph wind gust measured at Cotulla (COT). Roof was blown off trailer on Houston Street in Cotulla. Sheriff Office reported wind damage to the I-35 bridge at F.M. 468, where concrete chunks were lying under the bridge.
May 2006HailCotulla-Reported at a truck stop on I-35 near the La Salle and Frio County line (between Millet and Dilley).
September 2006Flash FloodCotulla-Law enforcement officials reported water over several roads in Cotulla, requiring barricades.
April 2004Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Railroad crossing snapped in two and tree blown down onto vehicle.
June 2004Flash FloodCotulla-Texas DPS reported water over Interstate 35 at mile marker 53. Several cars reported off the roadway. Doppler radar estimated 3 to 5 inches of rain fell just south of Cotulla, near and just east of Artesia Wells.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Power lines and poles were blown down in Cotulla.
March 2003Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Several power lines blown down in city.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Tree blown over on power line which started fire.
August 2001HailCotulla-5 mi SE of Cotulla.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Downed highway signs along I-35
May 1999Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Thunderstorm wind gust downed numerous large trees and destroyed a roof.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindCotulla-Numerous reports of several trees blown down and uprooted along with damage to mobile homes by strong thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 1997HailCotulla-Sheriff report of golfball sized hail.
June 1997Flash FloodCotulla-Sheriff report of flooded roadways.
June 1997Flash FloodCotulla-Sheriff and border patrol report of flooded streets.
May 2008HailCotulla-no account filed
May 2006HailCotulla-no account filed
May 2006HailCotulla-no account filed
May 2006HailCotulla-no account filed
February 2004HailCotulla-no account filed
July 2004HailCotulla-no account filed
March 2002HailCotulla-no account filed
May 2001Thunderstorm WindCotulla-no account filed
May 2001HailCotulla-no account filed
March 1999HailCotulla-no account filed
May 1999HailCotulla-no account filed
May 1997HailCotulla-no account filed
August 1996Flash FloodCotulla-no account filed
June 1995HailCotulla-no account filed

Every storm recorded in La Salle 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
Zamora Acres Colonia0.4 miles10
Gardendale5.6 miles9
Woodward8.1 miles8
Millett10.2 miles9
Artesia Wells11.1 miles13
Los Angeles12.6 miles10
Dull16.1 miles9
Fowlerton22.6 miles9

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 CotullaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q972917The 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 1333494. 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.