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.
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
Baxter Buildinglisted 2019
Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record
- Southern Pacific-Cotton Belt, Freight Agents Office, Union Pacific Milepost 174.00, 122 West Jefferson Avenue, Harlingenfederal building survey, 5 photographs
Population over time
2 figuresHarlingen 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 64,849 | |
| 2020 | 71,829 | +6,980 (+11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1929 USGS Harlingen quadrangle1:24000
- 1932 USGS Harlingen quadrangle1:31680, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS Brownsville quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Brownsville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Harlingen quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Port Isabel quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Brownsville quadrangle1:250000
- 1992 USGS Harlingen quadrangle1:100000
Photographs
8 of 14 photographs shown, 1939 to 1943Taken 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.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1942. Library of Congress
Vachon, John, 1943. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1942. Library of Congress
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1942. Library of Congress
Vachon, John, 1943. Library of Congress
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Every photograph of Cameron County
Fires near this place
64 since 1996Regional 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/undetermined | 39 |
| Debris and open burning | 15 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | PRIMERA COMMAND |
| 13 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | WILCOX COMMAND |
| 1 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | PALOMA BLANCA COMMAND |
| 26 August 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | WILCOX COMMAND |
| 5 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | WILSON COMMAND |
| 4 July 2005 | Debris and open burning | 35 acres | South Texas Refuge Complex | JULY 4TH |
| 18 July 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | BAKER POTTS COMMAND |
| 6 June 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | NOVEMBER COMMAND |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
34 since 1994Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | $100,000 | Significant flash flooding was reported in the Mariposa subdivision of north Harlingen with water up to car headlights. |
| October 2003 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | $50,000 | Heavy 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 1994 | Hail | Harlingen | $50,000 | A 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 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | $20,000 | An 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 2007 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | $20,000 | Texas General Land Office reported an estimated one foot of water covering the streets in downtown Harlingen. |
| October 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | $10,000 | Thunderstorm 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 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | $6,000 | One mobile home overturned and extensive tree, fence, and awning damage. |
| February 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | $5,000 | Trees and power lines down. |
| April 2010 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | $2,000 | Pendleton 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 2021 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | - | Local emergency managers reported standing water at the Intersection of Wilson Road and Frontage Road in Harlingen. |
| October 2021 | Flood | Harlingen | - | Video received from public of water reaching up to car bumpers along Washington Ave between Commerce and 1st Streets in Harlingen. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Harlingen | - | A report of nickel sized hail was received from the public, at the intersection of New Hampshire Ave. and I-69E in Harlingen. |
| May 2013 | Heavy Rain | Harlingen | - | 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 2012 | Hail | Harlingen | - | 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 2009 | Heavy Rain | Harlingen | - | 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 2008 | Heavy Rain | Harlingen | - | 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 2007 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | - | Moderate street flooding reported in Harlingen by an NWS employee near Ed Carey road and U.S. Highway 77. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | - | Moderate street flooding reported in Harlingen by an NWS employee near Ed Carey road and U.S. Highway 77. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | - | Texas General Land Office reported flash flooding of Ed Carey Road in Harlingen near Business Highway 77. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | - | The ASOS in Harlingen measured a wind gust of 70 mph. |
| April 2004 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | - | Law enforcement closed Farm to Market road 106 between Harlingen and Rio Honda due to flash flooding caused by heavy rains. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | - | Harllingen ASOS measured a wind gust of 63 mph. |
| September 2001 | Tornado (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 2001 | Tornado (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 2001 | Flash Flood | Harlingen | - | 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 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | - | The strong thunderstorm winds tore off the roof of a residence about 1 mile south of Valley Race Track on Nixon road. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Funnel Cloud | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Hail | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Hail | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
| February 1998 | Hail | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
| December 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
| August 1994 | Tornado (F0) | Harlingen | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmetal | 1.8 miles | 13 | |
| Fred Adams Colonia | 1.9 miles | 13 | |
| Juarez Colonia | 2.1 miles | 13 | |
| Avondale | 2.6 miles | 13 | |
| Las Palmas Colonia | 2.6 miles | 13 | |
| Bonnaville Terrace Colonia | 2.8 miles | 13 | |
| Palm Valley | 3.2 miles | 13 | |
| Los Ranchitos Colonia | 3.3 miles | 13 |
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 Harlingen | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q868869 | The 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.







