Prairie Dell, Texas
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the South Bell census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76571. The Survey maps it on the Salado quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 14 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.
- 1893 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1954 USGS Austin quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1964 USGS Salado quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1985 USGS Taylor quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
49 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Prairie Dell between 2003 and 2020, burning about 1,753 acres in total. 2 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 21 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SPEARS RANCH CR 305 |
| 30 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 30 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 261 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | MUSTANG CREEK |
| 22 September 2011 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HACKBERRY & GOOSNECK |
| 22 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 18 September 2009 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 20750 HORN FROG |
| 9 August 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | GOOSENECK RD |
| 31 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | JARRELL ASSIST ON 237 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Prairie Dell: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bandas Industries Inc Reed,S Lake | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Limestone, General | Producer | Limestone |
Storms near this place
5 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Prairie Dell in 5 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 2 tornado, 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 1997 | Tornado (F1) | Prairie Dell | $20,000 | The extremely severe supercell thunderstorm produced its sixth tornado about half a mile west of the Prairie Dell exit on I-35. The tornado was observed to be nearly stationary in a field for about 10 minutes then it moved quickly south-southwest. Trees were destroyed and several structures were damaged. The tornado dissipated near the location where County Road 304 crosses the Bell-Williamson County line. A short time later, a violent tornado developed and devastated the community of Jarrell in northern Williamson County. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Prairie Dell | - | Broadcast media reported quarter hail sized 6.5 miles WSW of Salado. |
| March 2022 | Tornado (EF0) | Prairie Dell | - | This tornado was a continuation of the EF-1 tornado that passed through Jarrell previously. The tornado crossed the Williamson and Bell County line near CR 304. Through Bell County, EF-0 damage to trees was observed, with max winds of 75 mph and a max width of 100 yards. The tornado dissipated near Prairie Dell Church Road, just west of Interstate 35. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Prairie Dell | - | Trees were blown down by high winds. |
| March 1999 | Hail | Prairie Dell | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salado | 4.9 miles | 14 | |
| Cedar Valley | 5.4 miles | 15 | |
| Union Grove | 8.1 miles | 19 | |
| Youngsport | 8.9 miles | 15 | |
| Holland | 9.5 miles | 14 | |
| Summers Mill | 9.9 miles | 14 | |
| Childers Mill (historical) | 10.7 miles | 14 | |
| Sparks | 12.1 miles | 15 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1365725. 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.



