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Freer, Texas

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Freer census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78357. The Survey maps it on the Freer North quadrangle. 2,461 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 518 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Freer within Duval County

Population over time

2 figures

Freer fell from 2,818 to 2,461 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
20102,818
20202,461-357 (-13%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 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

9 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Freer between 2006 and 2008, burning about 94 acres in total. None 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/undetermined4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Debris and open burning2

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
15 April 2008Equipment and vehicle use10 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
16 March 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
23 February 2008Debris and open burning10 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
15 February 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
6 January 2008Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
5 January 2008Debris and open burning50 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
19 January 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
15 January 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Duval County

Storms near this place

49 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Freer in 49 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 25 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 1 lightning. 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 2013HailFreer$1,000,000NWS storm survey combined with Freer Fire Chief reports indicated that golf ball to baseball sized hail fell in the northeast portions of the city of Freer. The hail caused dents in vehicles including a new and used car lot. The baseball sized hail broke out windows in north facing buildings. Hail broke windshields out of the fire truck.
April 2010LightningFreer$50,000Lightning struck an oil storage facility, causing an explosion and fire, along highway 16 just south of Freer.
April 2007HailFreer$50,000Quarter size hail began around 515 PM LST. Golfball to tennis ball size hail was reported around 545 PM LST. Hail ended around or shortly after 600 PM LST CDT as supercell moved southwest of the city. Hail caused damage to some vehicles.||
February 2013Thunderstorm WindFreer$25,000NWS storm survey concluded winds up to 60 mph swept through the city of Freer. The survey team observed damage to a couple of structures with their roof blown off. Several large trees were blown down. One house under construction with just the wood frame collapsed. Several tin sheds were damaged along with a few fences blown down.
October 2015Thunderstorm WindFreer$10,000Freer Police Department reported trees and power poles were blown down in the city.
February 2013HailFreer$10,000The public reported quarter to golf ball sized hail just north of the city of Freer. The hail depth on the ground was 3 inches.
April 1994HailFreer$5,000The Freer Police reported 0.75-inch hail at Freer.
August 1994Thunderstorm WindFreer$5,000no account filed
August 1994HailFreer$2,000no account filed
June 2014Thunderstorm WindFreer$1,000Law enforcement officials reported two power lines down around Parklane Street and Stinson Drive in Freer.
October 2005Thunderstorm WindFreer$1,000NWS storm survey observed roughly half a dozen power poles broken in half along FM 3196 just north of Highway 44. The power poles were lying towards the southeast suggesting straight line winds. Winds were estimated between 70 and 80 mph.
March 2026HailFreer-Measured quarter size hail near the intersection of Hahl Street and TX-16 with reports of power outages in the area.
April 2024HailFreer-Social media video of hail with videographer, estimating quarter size hail near Freer high school. Time estimated by radar.
March 2022HailFreer-Emergency Manager relayed report of half dollar sized hail near Freer.
May 2017HailFreer-Storm chaser reported half dollar sized hail on Highway 44 northwest of Freer.
May 2017HailFreer-Storm chaser reported quarter sized hail near Freer.
May 2017HailFreer-Public reported quarter sized hail in Freer through social media.
May 2015Flash FloodFreer-Water flowed over Highway 16 just south of Freer. Highway 44 east of Freer was flooded.
October 2013Flash FloodFreer-U. S. Highway 59 and Texas Highway 44 west of Freer closed due to flooding.
May 2012HailFreer-Quarter sized hail occurred near Highway 59 southwest of Freer.
March 2012Thunderstorm WindFreer-The Freer Police Department reported winds estimated up to 60 mph east of Freer.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindFreer-Large tree limbs snapped throughout the city of Freer.
July 2010Funnel CloudFreer-Several funnel clouds reported halfway to ground, just west of Freer.
July 2007Flash FloodFreer-Between 5 and 7 inches of rain fell in northwest Duval County. Highway 44 west and northwest of Freer was closed due to flooding in several spots.|
June 2006Flash FloodFreer-Doppler radar estimated 3 to 4 inches of rainfall fell over a very short period of time in Freer. A few roadways in and around Freer were flooded.
September 2006Flash FloodFreer-Law enforcement reported the intersection of Highway 44 and F.M. 3196 barricaded due to high water over the road. Doppler radar estimated between 3 and 4 inches fo rain fell across this area.
October 2005Thunderstorm WindFreer-Telephone poles reported blown down along Highway 16, north of Freer. Winds were estimated between 60 and 80 mph.
October 2005HailFreer-Quarter size hail observed to be 4 inches deep in some spots along Highway 44.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindFreer-A supercell moved across the town of Freer resulting in damage on west and south side of town. Freer Police reported large tree limbs down, roof damage to an older home, a patio cover blown off a home, and downed telephone poles, including a new pole snapped in half. In addition, rain guages recorded close to 4.5 inches of rain.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindFreer-Roof damage reported by high winds at Bill's Department Store in Freer.
October 2002Thunderstorm WindFreer-Wind Damage...numerous trees and powerlines blown down.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindFreer-Damaging thunderstorm wind gusts destroyed 2 trailers.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindFreer-NWS spotter report of strong thunderstorm wind gust.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindFreer-Several large trees and numerous power lines downed.
March 2007HailFreer-no account filed
April 2006HailFreer-no account filed
October 2005HailFreer-no account filed
June 2004HailFreer-no account filed
November 2004HailFreer-no account filed
December 2002HailFreer-no account filed
May 2002Thunderstorm WindFreer-no account filed
May 2001HailFreer-no account filed
November 2001HailFreer-no account filed
March 1999HailFreer-no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindFreer-no account filed
March 1998HailFreer-no account filed
February 1998HailFreer-no account filed
April 1997HailFreer-no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindFreer-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Duval 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.

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 FreerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q969875The 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 1336186. 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.