BlockBefore

Sabinal, Texas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Sabinal census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78881. The Survey maps it on the Sabinal quadrangle. 1,364 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 958 feet above sea level.

Sabinal within Uvalde County

Population over time

2 figures

Sabinal fell from 1,695 to 1,364 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
20101,695
20201,364-331 (-20%)

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

39 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 39 fires within 5 miles of Sabinal between 2005 and 2014, burning about 351 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
Smoking13
Debris and open burning12
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Equipment and vehicle use4
Railroad operations and maintenance2

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
21 September 2005Smoking3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
21 July 2005Debris and open burning3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
21 July 2005Debris and open burning2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
14 July 2009Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE @ C&W FUELS
9 June 2011Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceTRAIN TRESSEL FIRE ON CR 319
28 June 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
21 June 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service16
31 May 2011Smoking2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE 4 MI EAST US HWY 90

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Uvalde County

Storms near this place

41 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sabinal in 41 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 16 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 9 flash flood, 3 flood. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. 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
October 2018FloodSabinal1 killedThunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flooding of the Sabinal River. At Sabinal the river crested at 15.34 feet late on 10/9/18. Flood stage is 12 feet. It dropped below flood stage early on the 10th. A truck was washed away on RR 187 at a low water crossing that remained flooded south of Sabinal at 1:50 am Oct 12. A man in his 20s was killed and his body was found approximately one mile from the river crossing.
March 2002HailSabinal1 hurt, $50,000A boy who had been bow-hunting outdoors was hit by the large hail. He was knocked unconscious, but recovered shortly after being taken to a hospital.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindSabinal$50,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph. A Cooperative Observer in Sabinal reported widespread thunderstorm wind damage including broken power poles, downed trees, damaged and destroyed outbuildings, and roof damage to homes.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindSabinal$50,000The damage in the Sabinal area was due to a combination of severe thunderstorm wind downburst followed very quickly by a tornado. The strong winds struck the town first, damaging roofs of mobile homes and buildings and knocking limbs out of trees. A few trees were uprooted. The wind gusts were estimated at 70 miles an hour. The wind damage path was essentially square-shaped, between 4 and 5 miles on each side, and oriented from southwest to northeast. Following the wind, heavy rain was reported, along with small hail.
October 2001Tornado (F0)Sabinal$30,000The severe thunderstorm ended quickly and a tornado was spotted at 840 pm CST by a trained Skywarn spotter. It was approximately 100 yards wide and occurred 5 miles north of Sabinal mostly in open country. It tracked for .5 miles toward the southeast, causing minor damage to two homes. It was rated F0 on the Fujita Scale. No injuries were reported.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindSabinal$5,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that blew down a large tree in Sabinal.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindSabinal$5,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph that blew down the top half of a large, healthy Pecan tree.
October 1993Thunderstorm WindSabinal$5,000County Sheriff's Office reported straight line winds in and near the town of Sabinal. Several trees were uprooted and large metal building was blown over.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindSabinal$1,000A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 50 kts which broke numerous 5-6 inch diameter tree limbs on the east side of town.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindSabinal-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 65 mph that broke a large Hackberry tree in half in Sabinal.
July 2025FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding. One person died at RM 187 and the Frio River when their vehicle was submerged at a low water crossing. The Frio River levels rose due to heavy rainfall upstream on the 14th and 15th.
May 2022HailSabinal-A thunderstorm produced ping pong ball size hail in Sabinal.
May 2021Flash FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain of 6.59 inches in four hours that led to flash flooding. RR 187 along the Sabinal River was flooded south of Sabinal.
May 2021Flash FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding. TXDOT reported RR 187 was closed along the Sabinal River in southeastern Uvalde County.
April 2021HailSabinal-A thunderstorm produced tennis ball size hail in Sabinal.
May 2019HailSabinal-A thunderstorm produced golf ball size hail in Sabinal.
May 2019HailSabinal-A thunderstorm produced two inch hail in Sabinal.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindSabinal-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph that knocked down a tree in Sabinal.
September 2018Flash FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding. Several roads around Sabinal were closed due to flooding along the Sabinal River including RM 187 and TX 127.
May 2017Flash FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms stalled over Uvalde County producing as much as 7.07 inches of rain in two hours south of Sabinal. This led to flash flooding closing RR187 at the Blanco Creek crossing.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindSabinal-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts measured at 55 kts. This storm also produced one inch hail.
June 2016Flash FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing RR 187 south of Sabinal.
May 2016HailSabinal-A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail about a half mile north-northeast of Sabinal.
May 2016Flash FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing several roads in and around Sabinal.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindSabinal-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that snapped a healthy three foot diameter Mesquite tree three feet above the ground.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindSabinal-A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph that snapped off numerous healthy four to eight inch diameter tree limbs.
May 2015Flash FloodSabinal-Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing SH 127 from the City Park in Sabinal to the SH 127-187 fork north of town.
March 2013HailSabinal-A thunderstorm produced hail that covered the ground. The largest was nickel size.
July 2007Flash FloodSabinal-Scattered thunderstorms produced general rain totals of 2 to 3 inches over Kinney, Uvalde, Zavala, Medina, and Frio Counties in the afternoon of July 3, with up to 4 inches in the southeast corner of Uvalde County. FM187 and FM140 were closed.
July 2007FloodSabinal-The Sabinal River at Sabinal crested at 27.1 ft on 07/21 at 1100cst, where flood stage is 12 ft.
August 2007Flash FloodSabinal-Showers and thunderstorms associated with Erin produced general 2 to 3 inch rain amounts over north and east Uvalde County. Highest totals were near 5 inches north of Sabinal toward the Bandera County line. Flash flooding closed FM187, FM1050, and SH127 through much of the evening.
March 2002Tornado (F0)Sabinal-A small and short-lived tornado was observed near Sabinal by a law enforcement officer. Reports of the tornado were also called in by the public. It struck approximately 3 miles northwest of Sabinal and tracked toward the east northeast before dissipating. The tornado did not cause any significant damage. It was rated F0 on the Fujita Scale.
April 2016HailSabinal-no account filed
May 2016HailSabinal-no account filed
May 2016HailSabinal-no account filed
March 2013HailSabinal-no account filed
March 2013HailSabinal-no account filed
April 2010HailSabinal-no account filed
May 2008HailSabinal-no account filed
February 1998HailSabinal-no account filed
May 1997HailSabinal-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Uvalde 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
Trio7.6 miles11
Knippa9.2 miles11
Long Crossing12.2 miles11
First Crossing17.8 miles12
Concan17.9 miles12
Vanham Addition Colonia18.2 miles12
Second Crossing18.3 miles8
Brice Lane Colonia18.5 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 SabinalAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q977988The 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 1367078. 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.