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Rotan, Texas

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Rotan census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79546. The Survey maps it on the Rotan quadrangle. 1,332 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,949 feet above sea level.

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Rotan within Fisher County

Population over time

3 figures

Rotan fell from 1,611 to 1,332 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
20001,611
20101,508-103 (-6%)
20201,332-176 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 15 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

67 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 67 fires within 5 miles of Rotan between 2005 and 2020, burning about 599 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 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/undetermined22
Debris and open burning15
Smoking12
Equipment and vehicle use9
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Arson/incendiarism1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Natural1

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
25 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHULL
25 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceFIREDBUZZARD
31 August 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceDITCH FIRE
31 August 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceS CURVE
3 August 2008Smoking10 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
19 August 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceBCE
16 August 2019Natural5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceLIGHTENING
11 August 2020Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHOOPER 3

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fisher 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 Rotan: 2 producers, 1 occurrence. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gypsum-Anhydrite, Strontium. 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
Oden OccurrenceStrontiumOccurrenceCelestite
Longworth Gypsum PlantGypsum-AnhydriteProducer
Rotan Gypsum PlantGypsum-AnhydriteProducer

Every working recorded in Fisher County

Storms near this place

60 of 124 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rotan in 124 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 70 hail, 41 thunderstorm wind, 8 tornado, 4 flash flood. 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
May 2002HailRotan$5,000,000Thunderstorms over Fisher County produced hail up to the size of golfballs. The hail caused damage to the public library as well as many homes in Rotan.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindRotan$250,000An apparent downburst tore through the community of Rotan, severely damaging several businesses. One automotive garage was completely destroyed when its sheet metal roof and walls were blown away by the high winds. Several other buildings along Main Street lost part or all of their roofs, with the debris damaging other buildings downwind. Two schools suffered roof damage, allowing rain water to leak into the classrooms. In addition, trees and fences throughout the town were knocked down, and many houses suffered broken windows.
May 2013Tornado (EF0)Rotan$100,000This tornado, reported by storm chasers, impacted the east side of Rotan as it crossed State Highway 92 and the nearby golf course. The twister broke several large tree limbs, knocked down power poles and power lines, uprooted a few trees and tore off some roof shingles from a few homes. The tornado lifted near the intersection of South Genevieve Avenue and State Highway 70.
May 2004HailRotan$6,000The large hail damaged an automobile's windshield.
September 2002Thunderstorm WindRotan$2,000Strong thunderstorm winds blew the roof off of a building.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindRotan$500Small trees and outbuildings blown over
April 2026HailRotan-We received a call from an individual in Rotan, TX reporting golf ball sized hail in Rotan. He was located approximately one block west of the park in town.
April 2026HailRotan-Broadcast media relayed a photo of golf ball size hail from a viewer in Rotan. Time of report estimated from radar.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindRotan-A mesonet station reported a wind gust of 71 mph 5 miles west of Rotan.
April 2025HailRotan-Public reported half dollar size hail.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRotan-A mesonet observation station reported a 71 mph wind gust.
June 2025HailRotan-Public reported quarter size hail.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRotan-A mesonet observation station reported a wind gust of 81 mph 5 miles west of Rotan.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRotan-The National Weather Service conducted a storm survey after a strong supercell thunderstorm moved southeast across Fisher |County, with a swath of very strong winds that pushed through the |northern and central portions of the county. Three broken steel |transmission poles were observed northeast of Rotan, a roof of a |degraded carport was blown off in Rotan, a couple small barns or |outbuildings were heavily damaged east of Roby and in Sylvester, |tree damage was widespread, and broken wood power poles were |observed as well. The estimated peak wind speed was 100 mph and |the distance of the wind damage was around 18 miles.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindRotan-A mesonet observation station measured a 63 mph wind gust.
April 2024HailRotan-Public reported quarter size hail.
April 2024HailRotan-Public reported golf ball size hail.
April 2024HailRotan-Public reported quarter size hail.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindRotan-A mesonet observation station measured a 78 mph wind gust.
April 2023HailRotan-A spotter reported quarter size hail piled up along County Road 327.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindRotan-A mesonet station measured a wind gust of 71 mph, 5 miles west of Rotan.
May 2023HailRotan-The report was from mping.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindRotan-A West Texas Mesonet observation site recorded a wind gust of 62 mph.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindRotan-Law Enforcement reported partial collapse of a roof on a hardware store and exterior damage in Rotan.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindRotan-Mesonet site 5 miles west of Rotan measured sustained winds of 83 mph with a wind gust of 95 mph.
May 2023HailRotan-The public reported quarter size hail in Rotan.
May 2023HailRotan-There is picture of hail 3 inches in diameter on Facebook in Rotan.
May 2023HailRotan-There was pea to quarter size hail reported in Rotan.
October 2023Thunderstorm WindRotan-A Mesonet observation site reported a 59 mph wind gust.
October 2023Thunderstorm WindRotan-A Mesonet observation site reported a 63 mph wind gust.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindRotan-The West Texas Mesonet station, 5 miles west of Rotan, reported a wind gust of 61 mph.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindRotan-The Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet Station located 5 miles west of Rotan measured a 64 MPH wind gust from the west.
May 2021HailRotan-The Rotan Fire Department reported golf ball to baseball size hail.
May 2021Flash FloodRotan-Fisher County Sheriff's Office reported water flowing over the road on State Highway 70 just north of the Fisher County Hospital.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindRotan-The Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet site recorded a wind gust of 64 mph.
May 2019HailRotan-A trained spotter reported golf ball size hail in Rotan.
May 2019HailRotan-Baseball size hail was reported 4 miles west of Rotan.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindRotan-Damaging thunderstorm wind gusts peeled a section of a metal roof off of the Baptist Church, uprooted numerous trees and knocked down power lines in Rotan.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindRotan-The Rotan Fire Department estimated a wind gust of 60 mph.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-A brick wall was damaged from a house on the 100 Block of Mccarther St.
May 2013Flash FloodRotan-Roads were flooded in Rotan with a depth of 1 to 2 feet of water.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-The Rotan Fire Department reported a wind gust of 60 mph.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-Thunderstorm wind gusts from 60 to 80 mph were reported in Rotan.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-The roof of a barn collapsed along State Highway 70 about three quarters of a mile south of Rotan.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-The high thunderstorm winds tore roofs of some of the homes and the buildings in Anson.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-Law enforcement reported a power line down on east Lee Street.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-KTXS reported an estimated wind gust of 75 MPH.
April 2013HailRotan-The public reported half inch to nickel size hail.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-A National Weather Service Cooperative Observer reported large pecan tree limbs down.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindRotan-National Weather Service Cooperative Observer reported a 60 mph wind gust.
April 2013HailRotan-A HAM operator in Rotan reported penny size hail.
September 2012Thunderstorm WindRotan-A storm survey indicated that widespread tree limb damage occurred across the eastern half of Rotan. In addition, a few trees and fences were blown down. The wind was estimated at around 70 MPH. A few homes sustained roof damage and a few metal roofs sustained minor structural damage. Thunderstorm winds blew a tree onto a power line in Rotan and several storage tanks were pushed over onto their sides.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindRotan-The strong wind gusts were assocaited with the gust front well ahead of the storm.
April 2008Tornado (EF0)Rotan-Law enforcement reported a brief tornado 4 miles south of the town of Rotan.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindRotan-Fisher County Emergency Manager reported tree limbs down and roof damage in the town of Rotan.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindRotan-Trees were blown down and damage was found to the local gym. Also, highway 70 was blocked by debris.
June 2007Flash FloodRotan-Law enforcement reported that County Road 611 west of Rotan was flooded and impassable.
June 2005Tornado (F1)Rotan-This tornado developed from the same supercell that spawned the large tornado near Jayton. The tornado that formed in northern Fisher County was photographed by a constable. Also numerous storm chasers were following the storm as well as it went through northern Fisher County.
August 2005Flash FloodRotan-Very heavy rains of around 6 inches fell in addition to 6 inches of rain that had already fallen the past two days to produce flash flooding near the Rotan area. High water was reported across many low lying areas of Rotan. Highway 611 west of Rotan was also closed.
April 2003Tornado (F0)Rotan-Brief tornado right along the Fisher and Stonewall county line and was filmed by a chase crew.

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
Cross Roads4.3 miles10
North Roby5.2 miles15
Fisher5.7 miles15
Sardis6.8 miles15
Scotts Corner7.7 miles10
Hobbs8.3 miles10
Center8.6 miles12
Roby8.7 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 RotanAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q979599The 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 1345626. 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.