BlockSwiss Alp, Texas
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Schulenburg census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78956. The Survey maps it on the Swiss Alp quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 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.
- 1953 USGS Seguin quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS La Grange quadrangle1:62500
- 1958 USGS Seguin quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Swiss Alp quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Eagle Lake quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
24 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Swiss Alp between 1993 and 2014, burning about 250 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 7 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 30 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 23 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | CENTRAL TX - 24 |
| 10 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SOUTH BRANCH - 121 |
| 1 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HIGH HILL |
| 5 August 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 18 August 1998 | Debris and open burning | 8.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
3 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Swiss Alp in 3 storm reports between 2011 and 2021: 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Swiss Alp | $100,000 | The combination of an NWS damage survey and storm chaser video and documentation has concluded that an EF1 tornado occurred during the early evening hours of May 18th near Swiss Alp, TX in Fayette County. The tornado occurred in a large cluster of storms that were generally moving east across Fayette County. There were multiple mid-level circulations evident on radar during this event. So while a single tornado path has been created, there may have been other smaller satellite tornadoes or vortices that caused minor wind damage in other areas of Fayette County that evening. Storm Chaser video|showed a multi-vortex tornado on the ground near Swiss Alp and this discussion is the best conclusion we have on the path, width and strength of that tornado. Based on video, storm reports, and tree damage, it appears the tornado first touched down around 6:42 PM CDT just west of Hwy 77near the intersection of Hwy 77 and CR 956. Some minor tree damage was found in this area as well as power poles snapped on Hwy 77. As the tornado crossed Hwy 77, it became larger and multi-vortex as it moved northeast across open pasture and farmland. At approximately 6:48 PM CDT it caused significant damage to a cattle farm approximately one mile south of FM 1383. Metal roofing was removed from multiple cattle shade shelters, there was roof damage to|the business office, and partial structure collapse and roof damage to the main covered building, and cattle working area. Several trees had significant trunk and branch damage on the property as well. Metal roofing material was found several hundred yards away. The tornado continued to move northeast and eventually crossed Berger|Rd. Several trees were snapped along Berger Rd. and adjacent properties. It is not totally clear where the tornado dissipated as some sporadic minor tree damage was found farther NE by about a mile. Due to the weak nature of the damage, we elected to end the track just east of Berger Rd. at 6:52 PM CDT. Based on the damage seen on the ground, it is estimated that peak winds were near 100 mph (EF1) and the tornado was several hundred yards wide when it was multi-vortex. It was on the ground for a little over 3 miles. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Swiss Alp | $5,000 | A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that blew down several power poles and knocked out power to over 2000 customers. Wind damage was reported in Swiss Alp, as well as West Point, Plum, Elm Grove, and Muldoon. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Swiss Alp | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ammannsville | 2.7 miles | 10 | |
| Freyburg | 3.5 miles | 10 | |
| O'Quinn | 4.3 miles | 10 | |
| Hostyn | 4.4 miles | 10 | |
| High Hill | 4.5 miles | 10 | |
| Dubina | 5.5 miles | 10 | |
| Holman | 6.1 miles | 10 | |
| Cozy Corner | 6.3 miles | 10 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1379135. 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.