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Harlingen, Texas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Harlingen-San Benito census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78550. It stands on Little Creek. The Survey maps it on the Harlingen quadrangle. 71,829 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 39 feet above sea level.

Harlingen within Cameron County

On record in Harlingen

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

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Harlingen grew from 64,849 to 71,829 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
201064,849
202071,829+6,980 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 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.

Photographs

8 of 14 photographs shown, 1939 to 1943

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Harlingen, Texas. FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp. Clinic examination
Harlingen, Texas. FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp. Clinic examination
Rothstein, Arthur, 1942. Library of Congress
Harlingen, Texas. Barbecue stand
Harlingen, Texas. Barbecue stand
Vachon, John, 1943. Library of Congress
Harlingen, Texas. FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp. Nursery school luncheon
Harlingen, Texas. FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp. Nursery school luncheon
Rothstein, Arthur, 1942. Library of Congress
White migrant mother and son in tent home near Harlingen, Texas. See 32108-D
White migrant mother and son in tent home near Harlingen, Texas. See 32108-D
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Harlingen, Texas. FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp. Free play, nursery school
Harlingen, Texas. FSA (Farm Security Administration) camp. Free play, nursery school
Rothstein, Arthur, 1942. Library of Congress
Harlingen, Texas. Home of an orange farmer
Harlingen, Texas. Home of an orange farmer
Vachon, John, 1943. Library of Congress
Kitchen table and stove of white migrant camp near Harlingen, Texas. See 32108-D
Kitchen table and stove of white migrant camp near Harlingen, Texas. See 32108-D
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Son of migrant family near Harlingen, Texas
Son of migrant family near Harlingen, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Cameron County

Fires near this place

64 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 64 fires within 5 miles of Harlingen between 1996 and 2018, burning about 141 acres in total. 1 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined39
Debris and open burning15
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Arson/incendiarism2
Smoking1
Natural1
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
18 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServicePRIMERA COMMAND
13 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceWILCOX COMMAND
1 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServicePALOMA BLANCA COMMAND
26 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceWILCOX COMMAND
5 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceWILSON COMMAND
4 July 2005Debris and open burning35 acresSouth Texas Refuge ComplexJULY 4TH
18 July 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceBAKER POTTS COMMAND
6 June 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceNOVEMBER COMMAND

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cameron County

Storms near this place

34 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Harlingen in 34 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 10 flash flood, 8 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 5 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
May 2007Flash FloodHarlingen$100,000Significant flash flooding was reported in the Mariposa subdivision of north Harlingen with water up to car headlights.
October 2003Flash FloodHarlingen$50,000Heavy rains produced flash flooding of roadways and businesses in Harlingen. Several cars stalled in high water near the expressway and the heavy rain caused a roof failure to a local business.
March 1994HailHarlingen$50,000A severe thunderstorm formed along the Rio Grande River as a cold front was moving through deep South Texas. The storm produced hail up to one-inch in diameter and very strong wind gusts near Weslaco. As the storm moved eastward, it continued to produce hail in eastern Hidalgo and western Cameron County. Hail up to golf ball-size fell in the west side of Harlingen. Marble-size hail was reported between Weslaco and Harlingen in the towns of La Feria and Los Fresnos.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindHarlingen$20,000An NWS Storm Survey found several tree branches down in the Harlingen area, including one near the intersection of W Wichita Ave and Fair Park Blvd. On the eastern side of Harlingen, several windows were blown out at the Cardenas BMW on N Ed Carey Dr. The ASOS at Valley International Airport in Harlingen was used as a guide for estimating wind gusts and timing.
May 2007Flash FloodHarlingen$20,000Texas General Land Office reported an estimated one foot of water covering the streets in downtown Harlingen.
October 2021Thunderstorm WindHarlingen$10,000Thunderstorm winds estimated at 50 knots downed several large tree limbs and felled at least one large mesquite when its base snapped, ripped 3 to 4 pieces of roofing off of a carport on Hoy Street, and lofted a trampoline into powerlines. Damage value is estimated.||Note: The estimated wind gust of 50 knots is equivalent to 58 mph.
February 1995Thunderstorm WindHarlingen$6,000One mobile home overturned and extensive tree, fence, and awning damage.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindHarlingen$5,000Trees and power lines down.
April 2010Flash FloodHarlingen$2,000Pendleton Park and City Park in Harlingen was under water. One lane of North Farm to Market Loop 499 was closed. Local newspapers reported water surging through city streets between 6 and 7 PM. Power was knocked out at Valley International Airport from 7 until around 830 PM from unknown causes related to the storm. A daily record of 2.77 inches of rain fell in a very short time at Valley International Airport; radar estimates suggested 3 to 4 inches fell in areas which flooded.
July 2021Flash FloodHarlingen-Local emergency managers reported standing water at the Intersection of Wilson Road and Frontage Road in Harlingen.
October 2021FloodHarlingen-Video received from public of water reaching up to car bumpers along Washington Ave between Commerce and 1st Streets in Harlingen.
April 2019HailHarlingen-A report of nickel sized hail was received from the public, at the intersection of New Hampshire Ave. and I-69E in Harlingen.
May 2013Heavy RainHarlingen-Between 2.3 and 2.77 inches of rain fell in less than two hours on the west side of Harlingen, leaving ponded water in streets and fields and some nuisance urban flooding behind. The event, which occurred very early on a Saturday morning, had little impact with few people out.
May 2012HailHarlingen-Nickel sized hail was reported by the public on the west side of Harlingen along the Highway 77 and 83 interchange at 515 PM; penny sized hail was reported at the intersection of Harrison and U.S. Highway 77 at 520 PM, with another report of penny sized hail at the same time relayed by amateur radio from the general public in the same area. Continuation of the hail for another five minutes was estimated by radar.
August 2009Heavy RainHarlingen-CoCoRaHS observers reported between 2.5 and 3 inches of rain in both Palm Valley (about 2.2 miles west of Harlingen) and Rancho Viejo from a small thunderstorm complex which moved from Port Isabel west and developed stronger in west central Cameron County during the early afternoon of the 30th. Some poor draining streets had nuisance flooding, but most locations soaked up the rainfall, which was the first of significance during the entire month and going back to July 11th for most in the area.
July 2008Heavy RainHarlingen-Numerous roads in typically poor drainage locations sustained minor flooding in Harlingen when persistent bands of torrential rains moved through the western half of Cameron County during the morning and early afternoon of July 7th. In general, rainfall between 2 and 3 inches fell during this time period, near the end of a weeklong welcome drenching that that dropped between 6 and 9 inches, perhaps higher in a few spots, across the more populated areas of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.| |Extensive street flooding was reported in Harlingen and San Benito. This included the Fair Park area of Harlingen, First Street in Harlingen, particularly near the Highway 83 and 77 interchange near downtown. Numerous streets also experienced minor flooding in San Benito, and heavy rains affected construction sites in La Feria near the Hidalgo County line. ||Brownsville had more nuisance problems with widespread ponding in poor drainage locations, such as those on Boca Chica Boulevard between McDavitt and Security Drive. In all cases, structures were not threatened, and there were no casualties. ||The rains ended before mid afternoon on the 7th, and minor street flooding subsided.
May 2007Flash FloodHarlingen-Moderate street flooding reported in Harlingen by an NWS employee near Ed Carey road and U.S. Highway 77.
May 2007Flash FloodHarlingen-Moderate street flooding reported in Harlingen by an NWS employee near Ed Carey road and U.S. Highway 77.
May 2007Flash FloodHarlingen-Texas General Land Office reported flash flooding of Ed Carey Road in Harlingen near Business Highway 77.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindHarlingen-The ASOS in Harlingen measured a wind gust of 70 mph.
April 2004Flash FloodHarlingen-Law enforcement closed Farm to Market road 106 between Harlingen and Rio Honda due to flash flooding caused by heavy rains.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindHarlingen-Harllingen ASOS measured a wind gust of 63 mph.
September 2001Tornado (F0)Harlingen-Several weak landspout-type tornadoes formed along the leading of a stationary front. The tornadoes were weak, small, and short-lived, with none lasting more than five minutes. This particular tornado was reported by an off-duty NWS forecaster.
September 2001Tornado (F0)Harlingen-Several weak landspout-type tornadoes formed along the leading of a stationary front. The tornadoes were weak, small, and short-lived, with none lasting more than five minutes.
September 2001Flash FloodHarlingen-Widespread street flooding was reported around Harlingen by an off-duty NWS forecaster. The most significant flooding was occurring along portions of U.S. Highway 77 and associated access roads.
March 2000Thunderstorm WindHarlingen-The strong thunderstorm winds tore off the roof of a residence about 1 mile south of Valley Race Track on Nixon road.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindHarlingen-no account filed
August 2005Tornado (F0)Harlingen-no account filed
August 2005Funnel CloudHarlingen-no account filed
March 2000HailHarlingen-no account filed
April 1999HailHarlingen-no account filed
February 1998HailHarlingen-no account filed
December 1996Tornado (F0)Harlingen-no account filed
August 1994Tornado (F0)Harlingen-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cameron 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
Palmetal1.8 miles13
Fred Adams Colonia1.9 miles13
Juarez Colonia2.1 miles13
Avondale2.6 miles13
Las Palmas Colonia2.6 miles13
Bonnaville Terrace Colonia2.8 miles13
Palm Valley3.2 miles13
Los Ranchitos Colonia3.3 miles13

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 HarlingenAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q868869The 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 1337354. 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.