BlockBefore

Roby, Texas

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Roby census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79543. The Survey maps it on the Roby quadrangle. 591 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,962 feet above sea level.

Roby within Fisher County

Population over time

2 figures

Roby fell from 643 to 591 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
2010643
2020591-52 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 12 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

71 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 71 fires within 5 miles of Roby between 2005 and 2020, burning about 1,565 acres in total. 9 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 burning25
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Natural9
Equipment and vehicle use9
Smoking6
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Recreation and ceremony1

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
9 September 2006Debris and open burning8.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
8 September 2016Natural5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceMURPHY
6 September 2006Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
30 September 2005Debris and open burning5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
28 September 2015Debris and open burning100 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceMATTHEW BARRERA
22 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution10 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceMEADER
11 September 2005Smoking1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
31 August 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceDITCH FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fisher County

Storms near this place

60 of 92 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Roby in 92 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 47 hail, 29 thunderstorm wind, 10 flash flood, 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
June 2009HailRoby$700,000A supercell thunderstorm produced tennis ball to softball size hail in Roby. The combination of the strong winds and large hail resulted in damage that ranged from light to significant to approximately 100 homes. The Fisher County Sheriff's Office stated that 80 to 90 percent of the homes received damage to their roofs, siding and windows. Also, automobile windows were broken. The large hail lasted for 20 minutes.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindRoby$500,000The combination of strong winds and very large hail damaged all north facing sides of buildings.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindRoby$500,000Strong thunderstorm winds moved through the town of Roby and caused structural damage to homes. Car windows were broken by flying debris. Numerous trees and power lines were downed.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRoby$300,000Strong winds blew down telephone and power poles. Some of the utility poles were pulled right out of the ground. Livestock trailers were thrown around.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRoby$30,000Visibilities were reduced to zero in blowing dust.
June 1997Tornado (F1)Roby$25,000no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindRoby$10,000Several trees blown over.
September 1999Thunderstorm WindRoby$10,000Strong thunderstorm winds hit the Fisher County Airport on the evening of the 8th. A nearby garage suffered extensive damage when the roof collapsed, severely damaging the car parked inside. Also, a metal hangar located at the airport was partially destroyed.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindRoby$7,000A roof was blown off a house
September 1995Thunderstorm WindRoby$5,000Dime-size hail was reported in Lorenzo at 1235 CST. An Abilene television station reported dime-size hail in Rotan and 60 to 70 mph winds in Roby. The strong winds caused some structural damage to a home.
March 1993HailRoby$5,000Larger than golfball-size hail fell in central Fisher County. The hail caused damage to roofs and vehicles in Roby.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindRoby$2,000Strong thunderstorm winds from 65 to 75 mph damaged a shed used to house a recreational vehicle and large tree limbs of 12 inches in diameter.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindRoby$1,000A roof was blown off a barn
February 2001Thunderstorm WindRoby$500High winds during a thunderstorm ripped large tree limbs off area trees.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRoby-Law Enforcement reported a Hog Farm east of Roby had damage to their property and multiple powerlines down along the road.
June 2025HailNorth Roby-Public reported baseball size hail 6 miles east of Rotan.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindRoby-A storm chaser reported winds of 60 to 65 mph 1 mile south of Roby, measured by instrumentation from 6:30 PM to 7 PM.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindRoby-Public reported a wind gust of 61 mph was in Roby.
May 2023HailNorth Roby-The time estimated from radar.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindRoby-The public reported a Facebook photo of a destroyed garage and adjacent garage wall in Roby. The time was based off radar.
May 2023FloodRoby-The report was from mping.
May 2021Flash FloodRoby-Fisher County Sheriff's Office reported flowing water over U.S. Highway 180 just west of Roby.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindRoby-The Fisher County Sheriffs Office estimated wind gusts between 65 and 70 mph along with pea size hail.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindRoby-There was roof damage to 2 homes and 1 business in Roby. Power poles and power lines were blown down just north of Roby, and power lines were down in Rotan. There were numerous tree branches blown down across Roby. The wind speed was estimated at 90 mph.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindRoby-Law enforcement reported large branches down over the roadways.
May 2017Flash FloodRoby-Law enforcement reported flash flooding in Roby.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindRoby-A gas pump was blown off of its foundation and several power poles were snapped in Roby.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindRoby-The Fisher County Sheriff's office estimated a 60 mph wind gust in Roby.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindRoby-Power poles were snapped at the intersection of FM 1085 and State Highway 180.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindRoby-The Texas Department of Public Safety reported 60 mph winds near Roby.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindRoby-The public reported a roof torn off of a home, damage to interior walls, a carport destroyed, and damage to a porch from straight line thunderstorm winds.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindRoby-A microburst occurred over Roby at approximately 730 PM CDT. Two large, south-facing windows at the Roby City Hall were blown in and several trees were uprooted within the city limits. An outbuilding was destroyed on the south side of town.
April 2011HailRoby-Hail sizes ranging from dime size to golfball size fell from 645 pm to 715 pm.
June 2010Flash FloodRoby-Fisher County Law Enforcement and a trained storm spotter reported flash flooding at the intersection of U.S. Highway 180 and County Road 102 or about 1 mile east of Roby.
April 2007HailRoby-Hail Covered the ground.
April 2004Flash FloodRoby-Water was flowing over state highway 70 for several hours after heavy rains.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Roby-An off duty NWS employee and the Roby fire department saw two brief tornadoes just to the west of Roby.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Roby-This is the second brief tornado observed by the off duty NWS employee and the fire department.
May 2002Tornado (F0)Roby-A law enforcement officer reported a tornado on the ground for a short time. No structures were damaged from the tornado.
September 2001Flash FloodRoby-Heavy rainfall totaling 3 to 4 inches fell west of Roby, forcing the closure of Highway 180 for several hours.
August 2001Flash FloodRoby-Rainfall of nearly 5 inches brought flooding to the central sections of Fisher County. County Road 446 near the community of Claytonville was washed out by high water.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindRoby-A severe thunderstorm produced winds estimated at 65 mph.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindRoby-Winds were measured at 62 mph during a severe thunderstorm.
March 2000Flash FloodRoby-Ranch Road 2832 was reported to be flooded and impassable just northwest of Roby.
March 2000Tornado (F0)Roby-The same spotter who reported a brief tornado touchdown in extreme northwest Nolan County reported a second brief tornado touchdown in extreme southwest Fisher County.
June 1999Flash FloodRoby-Flood waters forced the closure of Farm Road 2832 west of Roby.
June 1999Flash FloodRoby-Several roads were flooded and impassable in the community of Roby.
May 2023HailRoby-no account filed
May 2023HailRoby-no account filed
April 2015HailRoby-no account filed
April 2015HailRoby-no account filed
April 2015HailRoby-no account filed
June 2013HailNorth Roby-no account filed
June 2013HailRoby-no account filed
September 2012HailRoby-no account filed
September 2012HailRoby-no account filed
April 2011HailRoby-no account filed
September 2010HailRoby-no account filed
June 2009HailRoby-no account filed
June 2009HailRoby-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Fisher 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
Fisher3.4 miles15
Center4.2 miles12
North Roby4.3 miles15
Pledger4.8 miles15
Royston6.2 miles15
Sardis6.3 miles15
Longworth6.7 miles12
Sylvester6.7 miles12

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 RobyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q976964The 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 1375773. 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.