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Cross Plains, Texas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1931 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Cross Plains census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76443. It stands on Bee Branch. The Survey maps it on the Cross Plains North quadrangle. 899 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,745 feet above sea level.

Cross Plains within Callahan County

On record in Cross Plains

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Cross Plains fell from 982 to 899 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
2010982
2020899-83 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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

139 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 139 fires within 5 miles of Cross Plains between 2005 and 2020, burning about 9,512 acres in total. 7 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/undetermined44
Debris and open burning37
Equipment and vehicle use24
Power generation/transmission/distribution21
Natural7
Smoking5
Arson/incendiarism1

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 2009Natural1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePAGE
30 September 2008Debris and open burning10 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
27 September 2009Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceAVE. A NE 3RD
26 September 2010Debris and open burning3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceMAURICIO
21 September 2011Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR 123 (4136)
19 September 2016Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHIERS CONTROLLED BURN
15 September 2019Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR 415
12 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceMILE POST 322

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Callahan County

Storms near this place

60 of 67 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cross Plains in 67 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 42 hail, 19 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 1 flash 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
August 2005Flash FloodCross Plains$50,000Very heavy rain in a short time caused water to cover portions of highway 206 in Cross Plains. State highway crews had to put out pylons to route traffic around flooded roads. Numerous unimproved roads were washed and eroded away by flood waters.
May 1997Tornado (F1)Cross Plains$50,000A downpour of rain and hail lasted about 12 minutes, and left a narrow strip of ground completely covered with hail. While hail was destroying the garden of this residence, a tornado touched down for a few seconds. The roof was ripped apart and the fireplace was destroyed. The suction damaged the home's ceiling. Mesquite trees in the yard were also ripped apart.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindCross Plains$50,000Thunderstorm winds estimated at 120 mph blew down hundreds of trees and power line poles. Several head of cattle were killed by flying debris.
May 1994HailCross Plains$50,000Several bridges were washed out and some rural roads were eroded by flash flooding.
May 1994Tornado (F0)Cross Plains$50,000A brief tornado touchdown unroofed several homes.
July 1996Thunderstorm WindCross Plains$50,000no account filed
June 1997HailCross Plains$30,000no account filed
October 2001HailCross Plains$15,000Hail the size of golf balls dented cars, broke windshields, and knocked siding off of homes in Cross Plains in southeast Callahan County.
March 2007HailCross Plains$10,000A trained spotter in Cross Plains observed severe hail for about 10 minutes. The hail grew to the size of tennis balls for a time before ending. In addition to the large hail, wind gusts to 68 mph were occuring at the same time as well.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindCross Plains$5,000Trees were blown down in Cross Plains as minor structural damage was reported.
May 1993Thunderstorm WindCross Plains$5,000Signs and tree limbs blown down by thunderstorm winds.
March 2007Thunderstorm WindCross Plains$2,000Wind gusts to 68 mph were reported along with tennis ball size hail.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindCross Plains$500A tin roof was peeled back as high winds moved across the area.
April 1993Thunderstorm WindCross Plains$500Thunderstorm winds blew down signs and tree limbs.
May 2024HailCross Plains-Public reported quarter size hail.
May 2024HailCross Plains-Law Enforcement reported golf ball to tennis ball size hail along the Coleman/Callahan County line on state highway 206.
September 2023HailCross Plains-The Fire Department reported golf ball size hail in Cross Plains.
September 2023HailCross Plains-A NWS trained spotter reported quarter size hail.
February 2017HailCross Plains-A trained spotter reported penny size hail.
April 2016HailCross Plains-A trained spotter reported golf ball size hail in Cross Plains.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-A metal roof was blown off a building in Cross Plains by strong thunderstorm winds.
May 2016HailCross Plains-Law enforcement reported golf ball size hail in Cross Plains.
October 2015Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-A member of the public estimated a thunderstorm wind gust of near 60 mph.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-A trained spotter reported numerous trees down across the City of Cross Plains. Some of the trees fell on cars.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-The Cross Plains fire department reported numerous trees down or uprooted. The largest tree was 28 inches in diameter and 30 feet long. Power lines were also down.
July 2014Funnel CloudCross Plains-A funnel cloud was reported 3 miles southwest of Cross Plains.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-The public reported a few large tree limbs down. The limbs were at least 10 feet in length.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-Law enforcement reported two trees down in Cross Plains.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-Tree damage was reported in Cross Plains.
May 2012HailCross Plains-Pea to ping pong ball size hail was reported in Cross Plains.
May 2012HailCross Plains-The public reported golf ball size hail in Cross Plains which produced extensive damage to vehicles.
January 2010Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-A storm spotter reported that a roof was blown off of a motel in Cross Plains.
March 2002Tornado (F1)Cross Plains-Trained spotters reported a large tornado across southern Callahan County. Fortunately, although the tornado traveled along a nearly 9 mile long track, the tornado crossed open country and little in the way of damage was reported.
September 2001Tornado (F0)Cross Plains-A sheriff deputy reported a tornado west of Cross Plains in southern Callahan County. No damage was reported.
February 1995Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-A truck accident on Highway 36 just east of Highway 283 was caused by high winds.
May 1994HailCross Plains-Several bridges were washed out and some rural roads were eroded by flash flooding.
May 1994HailCross Plains-A brief tornado touchdown unroofed several homes.
May 2017HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 2017HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 2015HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 2015HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 2015HailCross Plains-no account filed
April 2015HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 2010HailCross Plains-no account filed
June 2009HailCross Plains-no account filed
March 2007HailCross Plains-no account filed
March 2007HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 2006HailCross Plains-no account filed
November 2006HailCross Plains-no account filed
June 2005HailCross Plains-no account filed
December 2004Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-no account filed
May 2004Thunderstorm WindCross Plains-no account filed
May 2004HailCross Plains-no account filed
April 2003HailCross Plains-no account filed
March 2002HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 2002HailCross Plains-no account filed
October 2001HailCross Plains-no account filed
April 2000HailCross Plains-no account filed
April 2000HailCross Plains-no account filed
May 1998HailCross Plains-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Callahan 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
Cottonwood5.9 miles8
Atwell9.5 miles9
Rowden10.9 miles9
Admiral13.7 miles9
Belle Plain16.4 miles9
Putnam16.9 miles9
Jayell19.8 miles8
Oplin20.9 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 Cross PlainsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q975798The 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 1333719. 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.