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Port Lavaca, Texas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Port Lavaca census division. It lies in ZIP code area 77979. It stands on Lynn Bayou. The Survey maps it on the Port Lavaca West quadrangle. 11,557 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 16 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Port Lavaca within Calhoun County

Population over time

2 figures

Port Lavaca fell from 12,248 to 11,557 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
201012,248
202011,557-691 (-6%)

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

22 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Port Lavaca between 2006 and 2018, burning about 20 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
Debris and open burning12
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Smoking1
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
30 September 2008Debris and open burning3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
24 August 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceCHAVANA
11 August 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceVILLALOBOS
20 July 2008Debris and open burning7.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
5 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceSEADRIFT STREET
3 April 2018Smokingunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceHARTMAN RD GRASS FIRE
24 April 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceMULCH 2
23 April 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceMULCH

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Calhoun County

Storms near this place

31 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Port Lavaca in 31 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 12 thunderstorm wind, 10 flash flood, 3 tornado, 2 hail. The reports record 1 death and 3 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
May 2015LightningPort Lavaca1 killed, 1 hurtMan was struck by lightning after seeking shelter from the thunderstorm outside a store near the 500 block of Benavides Street. The man was revived by CPR, but later died from his injuries on July 2nd.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca2 hurt, $350,000Emergency manager of Calhoun confirms at least 12 RVs were either damaged or completed destroyed with two confirmed injuries. There was also sporadic tree damage and a couple power poles leaning significantly. Time was estimated from radar and surrounding observations.
April 2012Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca$250,000A NWS storm survey concluded that a downburst occurred in the city of Port Lavaca with estimated winds between up to 80 mph. Several homes in the path of the downburst sustained minor roof damage. Two telephone poles were snapped at their base. Numerous large tree limbs were down along with a few uprooted trees. The damage path was approximately a half mile wide and 2 miles in length, beginning near Alcoa Drive and extending northeast to near Travis Street to the south of Highway 35.
September 2012Tornado (EF0)Port Lavaca$100,000An NWS storm survey concluded an EF-0 tornado briefly touched down just west of Highway 35 at Farm to Market Road 3084. A Tractor Supply store experienced minor damage which included losing gutters off the building and a rooftop air conditioning unit being flipped. Winds were estimated at 65 mph.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca$10,000TCOON site at Port Lavaca measured a gust to 58 mph. Power lines were blown down in Port Lavaca causing a power outage for the city.
January 2011Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca$5,000A few asphalt shingles were blown off of residence.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca$5,000Minor wind damage occurred near Travis Middle School in Port Lavaca.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca$1,000Spotters reported tree limbs up to 4 inches in diameter down across the northern portions of Port Lavaca.
May 2023Flash FloodPort Lavaca-Port Lavaca Police Department reported several roads flooded across the city along with Farm to Market Road 1090. Barricades were needed.
May 2021Flash FloodPort Lavaca-Heavy rain and flooding resulted in numerous road closures, stranded vehicles, and water rising into homes across multiple locations in the northern part of Calhoun County.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca-TCOON site at Port Lavaca measured a gust to 60 mph.
December 2012Heavy RainPort Lavaca-Observer reported 2 inches of rainfall occurred in 50 minutes.
September 2010Funnel CloudPort Lavaca-Sheriff Department reported a funnel cloud near Port Lavaca.
May 2009Flash FloodPort Lavaca-Over seven inches of rain fell in Port Lavaca producing widespread flash flooding of low lying areas, small creeks, and streets.
May 2006Flash FloodPort Lavaca-Several vehicles became stalled in various flooded intersections around town.
June 2004Flash FloodPort Lavaca-Radar estimated 2 inches of rain fell quickly over already saturated grounds in nothern Calhoun county. A portion of HIghway 87 in Port Lavaca was briefly impassable due to high water.
July 2004Funnel CloudPort Lavaca-Funnel cloud was visibile for ten minutes, never touching the ground, and was reported by numerous citizens and motorists to local law enforcement.
November 2004HailPort Lavaca-Reported by sheriff in the Six Mile area.
July 2003Tornado (F0)Port Lavaca-Brief tornado touchdown associated with Hurricane Claudette. NWS Post Storm Survey Team concluded no direct damage associated with tornado. All damage around the area was associated with Hurricane Force winds from Claudette.
May 2001Tornado (F0)Port Lavaca-Tornado reported on highway 283. Several telephone poles downed.
May 1997Flash FloodPort Lavaca-Sheriff report of several roadways flooded.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca-Spotter reports winds near 52 kts knocking over trees.
March 1993Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca-The county sheriff's office reported wind gusts to 60 mph.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca-no account filed
May 2001Flash FloodPort Lavaca-no account filed
May 2001HailPort Lavaca-no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca-no account filed
October 1998Flash FloodPort Lavaca-no account filed
October 1998Thunderstorm WindPort Lavaca-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodPort Lavaca-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodPort Lavaca-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Calhoun 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
Alamo Beach3.2 miles10
Clark Station4.5 miles8
Point Comfort5.7 miles10
Magnolia Beach5.8 miles10
Sixmile5.9 miles9
Kamey6.4 miles9
Olivia9.2 miles8
Indianola10.2 miles9

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 LavacaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q982477The 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 1365595. 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.