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Port Arthur, Texas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1943 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Port Arthur census division. It lies in ZIP code area 77640. The Survey maps it on the Port Arthur North quadrangle. 56,039 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 7 feet above sea level.

Port Arthur within Jefferson County

On record in Port Arthur

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 9 records

Population over time

3 figures

Port Arthur fell from 57,755 to 56,039 between 2000 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
200057,755
201053,818-3,937 (-7%)
202056,039+2,221 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 16 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

1 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Port Arthur in 2013, burning under an acre 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/undetermined1

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
31 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGREENHILL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Port Arthur: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sulfur, Silica. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Mid-County Dirt PitSilicaProducer
Port Arthur Sulfur PlantSulfurProducer
Port Arthur Sulfur PlantSulfurProducer

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

50 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Port Arthur in 50 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 19 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 7 flash flood, 4 tornado. The reports record 1 death and 7 injuries. 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 2007LightningPort Arthur1 killedA 25 year old man was killed when lightning struck him. He was working on a barge near the Motiva Port Arthur dock.
July 1997Tornado (F0)Port Arthur3 hurt, $50,000no account filed
December 2024Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur2 hurt, $100,000Six RVs were flipped along the west bank of Sabine Lake on Pleasure Island. Two people were injured. This was caused by strong winds flowing into the approaching tornadic supercell that would pass to the south of the RV park.
March 1995Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur2 hurt, $70,000Trees were knocked down in western Beaumont and in Groves. In Port Arthur, a microburst produced wind gusts estimated at 70+ mph. It caused structural damage to some buildings, broke many windows, and knocked numerous trees. The storm path was 200 yards wide and 2 miles long. Two people were slightly injured by flying glass.
April 2024Tornado (EF2)Port Arthur$500,000A NWS storm survey revealed that an EF-2 tornado impacted areas of Port Arthur. The tornado began near the intersection of 17th Street and Savannah Ave southeast of Motiva. The tornado path traveled east, peaking out near the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church where a large portion of the masonry walls collapsed. Another home near 11th Street and Orange Ave had the roof completely removed and some walls collapsed. Home and tree damage was extensive across these neighborhoods in Port Arthur. The path continued across Rose Hill Park and onto Pleasure Island. The tornado likely continued into Sabine Lake. Maximum estimated winds were 120 mph.
June 2018Flash FloodWest Port Arthur$100,000Numerous streets were flooded in Port Arthur, Groves, and Central Gardens with several cars reported flooded.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$100,000no account filed
December 2002Flash FloodPort Arthur$50,000no account filed
July 2022Flash FloodWest Port Arthur$25,000Multiple streets were flooded with some cars stranded in Port Arthur, Nederland, and Groves. Water also approached some structures in Port Arthur.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$20,000no account filed
July 1997FloodPort Arthur$20,000no account filed
July 2018Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$15,000A home received roof damage from a thunderstorm near the intersection of Bluebonnet and Richmond Avenues in Port Arthur.
June 2017Flash FloodPort Arthur$10,000Heavy rain produced flooding in Port Arthur. This caused several cars to be stalled on Jimmy Johnson Blvd.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$10,000no account filed
September 1997FloodPort Arthur$10,000no account filed
April 2024Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$5,000Broadcast media relayed reports of minor damage to commercial buildings along with power poles and lines downed.
October 2006Flash FloodPort Arthur$5,000Residential streets had 2-3 feet of water on them and were impassable.
December 2002Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$5,000no account filed
December 2002Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$5,000no account filed
March 2001Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$5,000no account filed
May 2004Flash FloodPort Arthur$2,000no account filed
August 2010Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur$1,000Port Arthur Daily News reported large tree branches blown down in Port Arthur.
May 2024HailPort Arthur-A report of three quarter to one inch hail was received from Port Arthur.
December 2024HailPort Arthur-Golf ball size hail was reported at the Pleasure Island RV resort just before winds flipped multiple RVs.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-A wind gust of 51 knots was recorded at PORT2.
July 2022Tornado (EF0)West Port Arthur-Numerous videos and pictures were received through social media of a slow moving waterspout moving from Sabine Lake into Motiva. The land spout produced no noticeable damage beyond tipping over trash cans.
January 2016HailPort Arthur-A picture was received through Facebook of hail of half dollar size near Port Arthur.
November 2015Flash FloodPort Arthur-Closed streets and highways from flooding was reported from Beaumont, Central Gardens, Port Arthur, and Groves.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-A trained spotter estimated 65 mph winds in Port Arthur.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-Tug boat operator recorded wind gust of 58 mph.
April 1995Tornado (F0)Port Arthur-An National Weather Service employee spotted a tornado between one-half and two miles west of the Jefferson County Airport moving to the northeast at 30 mph. This tornado was in sight for about five minutes before being blocked by heavy rainfall. No damage was noted.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-Port Arthur police report trees and power lines down along Highway 87.
April 1993HailPort Arthur-The Port Arthur Police Department reported dime-size hail in downtown.
March 2017HailPort Arthur-no account filed
March 2017HailPort Arthur-no account filed
March 2017HailPort Arthur-no account filed
June 2011HailPort Arthur-no account filed
June 2011HailPort Arthur-no account filed
September 2011HailPort Arthur-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-no account filed
April 2004HailPort Arthur-no account filed
May 2004HailPort Arthur-no account filed
August 2003HailPort Arthur-no account filed
April 2003HailPort Arthur-no account filed
April 2000HailPort Arthur-no account filed
April 2000Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-no account filed
May 1999HailPort Arthur-no account filed
January 1998HailPort Arthur-no account filed
February 1998Thunderstorm WindPort Arthur-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson 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
Griffing Park1.3 miles16
Pear Ridge1.6 miles16
Lakeview1.9 miles16
Groves3.5 miles16
West Port Arthur4.2 miles16
Port Acres5.5 miles12
Atreco6.1 miles16
Nederland6.2 miles16

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 Port ArthurAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q45400The 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 1384151. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.