Slaton, Texas
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Slaton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79364. The Survey maps it on the Slaton quadrangle. 5,858 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,084 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresSlaton fell from 6,121 to 5,858 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6,121 | |
| 2020 | 5,858 | -263 (-4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
3 surveys from 8 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.
- 1954 USGS Lubbock quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1965 USGS Slaton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Slaton quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
101 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 101 fires within 5 miles of Slaton between 2006 and 2015, burning about 129 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/undetermined | 37 |
| Smoking | 36 |
| Debris and open burning | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 26 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 21 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 11 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 9 July 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 4 July 2012 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
| 19 July 2008 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 12 July 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | GRASS FIRE |
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 Slaton: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acuff Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Long-Johnson Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 62 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Slaton in 62 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 39 hail, 20 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2016 | Lightning | Slaton | 1 killed | no account filed |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | 1 hurt | Downburst winds estimated around 70 mph overturned a tractor trailer and injured its driver while traveling southeast on U.S. Highway 84. |
| May 1997 | Hail | Slaton | $585,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Slaton | $100,000 | Wind-driven hail broke windows and damaged the roofs of houses. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Slaton | $30,000 | Hail damaged the golf course and ten vehicles. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Slaton | $10,000 | A swath of very large hail from golf ball size to at times baseballs accompanied a stationary supercell thunderstorm in southeast Lubbock County. Photos from residents in Slaton indicated sporadic damage to some vehicles, with unknown damage elsewhere along the hail's footprint. |
| March 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | $2,000 | Thunderstorm winds resulted in a narrow swath of damage at a homestead northwest of Slaton. Two storage buildings were blown over and destroyed. In addition, three large trees were uprooted and a fence was damaged. The damaging winds affected an area estimated to be 30 yards by 100 yards in width. Wind speeds were estimated to be between 70 mph and 75 mph. |
| May 1993 | Hail | Slaton | $500 | A severe thunderstorm produced wind gusts to 60 miles an hour in Lynn County southeast of Wilson. As the storm moved across Lubbock County, golf ball-size hail was reported by the Slaton Police Department. No significant damage resulted from the wind and hail. |
| February 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Slaton measured severe wind gusts from 1947 CST through 1950 CST. A peak wind gust of 65 mph was measured at 1947 CST. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Slaton measured severe wind gusts from 1939 CST through 1948 CST. A peak wind gust of 86 mph was measured at 1942 CST. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Slaton | - | Local broadcast media relayed a report of quarter size hail in Slaton. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Slaton | - | A trained spotter reported hail up to the size of half dollars in Slaton. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Slaton | - | A report was received of golf ball size hail just south of Slaton. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Slaton measured severe wind gusts from 1930 CST through 1935 CST. A peak gust of 68 mph was measured at 1933 CST. Additionally, the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport measured a gust to 58 mph at 1931 CST. The emergency manager for the city of Lubbock also reported downed power poles in the 5700 block of third street in Lubbock. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Slaton measured severe wind gusts from 1748 CST through 1751 CST. A peak wind gust of 65 mph was measured at 1748 CST. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Slaton measured severe wind gusts from 2108 CST through 2117 CST. A peak wind gust of 76 mph was measured at 2111 CST. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Slaton | - | Scattered severe thunderstorms developed across Lubbock County on an outflow boundary. The first of these storms produced hail up to golf ball size from near Slaton to Buffalo Springs Lake at 1605 CST. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Slaton measured a wind gust to 60 mph. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | Measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station. |
| April 2017 | Hail | Slaton | - | The Slaton Fire Department relayed a report of hail up to half-dollar size. No damage was reported. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A heat burst produced brief severe wind gusts as measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet near Slaton. |
| April 2016 | Hail | Slaton | - | A photo from Facebook indicated hail of about 1.5 inches in diameter near Slaton. Damage was not known. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet station northeast of Slaton measured a gust to 68 mph at 2325 CST followed by a gust to 61 mph at 2330 CST. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | Measured by a Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet station. |
| March 2012 | Hail | Slaton | - | Broadcast media relayed a report of quarter size hail in Slaton. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Slaton | - | A trained spotter reported quarter size hail. No damage was reported. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | Downburst activity in the Lubbock vicinity produced a severe wind gust near Slaton where the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet recorded a 58 mph peak wind at 19:05 CST. No damage was reported. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Slaton | - | Large hail that ranged in size between quarters and ping pong balls was reported in Slaton. No damage was reported. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site near Slaton recorded a severe thunderstorm gust of 61 mph at 15:25 CST. A number of gustnadoes additionally developed along the storm's outflow boundary. No damage was reported. |
| December 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Slaton | - | The local media relayed video of a tornado near U.S. Highway 84 between Slaton and Southland. The video showed a well-develop tornado just east of the highway over open fields. No damage was reported. |
| April 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Slaton | - | |A local broadcast media affiliate (KAMC-TV) photographed a tornado spawned by a rapidly developing thunderstorm along an outflow boundary just northwest of Slaton. The tornado was small, but video documentation of the event suggested a very tight low-level circulation with a well-developed dust column that extended upward to a narrow rotating cloud base. The tornado remained over open country, and no damage was reported. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Slaton | - | Local emergency management officials reported large hail up to the size of pennies in Slaton. The hail was accompanied by severe wind gusts. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | Thunderstorms over extreme southeastern Lubbock County produced wind gusts up to 60 mph, as measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet near Slaton. Several public reports of winds estimated near 60 mph also were received, but no damage was reported. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | A small but intense thunderstorm impacted southeastern Lubbock County on the afternoon of the 6th. This storm produced localized severe wind gusts measured up to 60 mph by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site near Slaton. No damage was reported. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Slaton | - | A storm chase team from a local television station reported that nickel size hail accumulated up to two inches deep across Farm to Market Road 41 west of Slaton. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | The West Texas Mesonet site near Slaton additionally measured a severe thunderstorm wind gust as a complex of storms affected portions of Lubbock County. No damage was reported in the Slaton vicinity. |
| September 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | Golfball to Hen egg sized hail covering the ground. |
| September 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | Golfball, tennis ball and baseball sized hail covering the ground. Hail lasted for 4 minutes. |
| June 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | Ransom Canyon. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | The West Texas Mesonet station located northeast of town measured a 62 mph thunderstorm wind gust. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet measured a gust to 64 mph. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Slaton | - | The West Texas Mesonet site near Slaton measured a 59 mph wind gust. |
| April 2000 | Hail | Slaton | - | Dime size hail was reported at Lake Ransom Canyon. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Slaton | - | The public reported golfball-sized hail north of Slaton and quarter-sized hail east of Slaton. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Slaton | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Slaton | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Posey | 4.7 miles | 8 | |
| Ransom Canyon | 6.9 miles | 8 | |
| Union | 7.0 miles | 10 | |
| Buffalo Springs Lake | 7.4 miles | 8 | |
| Midway | 7.7 miles | 7 | |
| Burris | 9.4 miles | 11 | |
| Roosevelt | 10.1 miles | 8 | |
| Woodrow | 10.6 miles | 10 |
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 Slaton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q548878 | The 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 1368404. 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.


