BlockBefore

Washburn, Texas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Claude North census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79019. The Survey maps it on the Washburn quadrangle. 116 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,530 feet above sea level.

Washburn within Armstrong County

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 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

49 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Washburn between 2004 and 2020, burning about 5,468 acres in total. 7 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/undetermined16
Equipment and vehicle use12
Natural7
Debris and open burning4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Recreation and ceremony1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
23 August 2008Natural50 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
22 August 2008Natural1.5 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
1 August 2006Smoking5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
4 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceTA
22 July 2006Smoking5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
14 July 2020Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceFIRE
11 July 2020Recreation and ceremony5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceFIRE
9 June 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceHWY 287 & WEST END OF TOWN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Armstrong County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Washburn: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Box Canyon PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Armstrong County

Storms near this place

56 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Washburn in 56 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 38 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 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 2013Thunderstorm WindWashburn$500,000A decaying thunderstorm produced a localized downburst on US Highway 287 about 5 miles east of the Interstate 40 and US Highway 287 split (Armstrong County). A tractor trailer that was traveling on US Highway 287 was hit by this downburst and was blown over. No Injuries were relayed with this report from the Armstrong County Emergency Manager.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindWashburn$40,000A truck and camper flipped over on US 287 a mile east of Washburn.
March 2021Tornado (EF0)Washburn$30,000Continuation from a tornado that started in Randall County. The supercell underwent another odd handoff from the Palo Duro Canyon tornado near Highway 1258 which was documented by storm chasers in the area. Again, both the initial and new developing tornado co-existed for a period of time creating a wide damage path Near County Road 1 in Armstrong County. This tornado path remained in very rural country with few damage indicators and was likely stronger than suggested by the very limited rating. Along the path the tornado snapped a few small diameter power poles and destroyed a couple out buildings. It also pushed over a semi before it dissipated just north of Highway 287.
March 2021Tornado (EF1)Washburn$20,000This is a continuation of a tornado that started in Randall County. After crossing Palo Duro Canyon and the county line, the tornado stayed in open county and did minimal damage. It performed another rapid and complicated tornado handoff to the Palo Duro Canyon to Washburn tornado very close to the county line near the intersection of 1258 and Goathead Road as a new circulation took over.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindWashburn$15,000Two vehicles were blown off U.S. Highway 287 with one overturned.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWashburn$9,000The public reported that the thunderstorm wind gust lifted shingles off the roof of a home.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindWashburn$9,000The roof was reported blown off of a barn with additional tree and shingle damage in the town of Washburn. No injuries were reported.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWashburn$5,000A roof was taken off of a front porch. Also a heavy duty swing-set was blown over and several tree limbs were blown down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWashburn$5,000A storage building was blown over and large tree branches were downed.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWashburn$5,000no account filed
June 2008HailWashburn$2,000The public reported that the large hail broke the windshield on a vehicle and also broke a window of a home.
April 2022HailWashburn-Multiple reports of 1 to 1.25 in diameter were received between 1918 CDT and 1926 CDT across portions of southwest Amarillo. Some of these reports came in from NWS employees and some came from the public.
June 2020HailWashburn-Quarter size hail fell 3 miles east-southeast of Washburn.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Late report from social media, of wooden structures being blown over and damaged.
May 2019Tornado (EF0)Washburn-Chaser reported landspout with corresponding video.
September 2019FloodWashburn-Unpaved roads across west central Armstrong county were reported to be difficult to impossible to travel on due to high water. Paved roads remained passable.
September 2019FloodWashburn-Water covered parts of the road on Highway 1258 between County Road 3 and County Road 8.
May 2017HailWashburn-Late report. Half Dollar size hail reported.
August 2017Flash FloodWashburn-Flooding has been reported on county road 2 and fm 1151.
May 2016HailWashburn-Quarter size hail was reported 8 miles west of Claude.
May 2016HailWashburn-Quarter size hail was reported in Washburn.
June 2014HailWashburn-A cluster of thunderstorms developed along a stalled frontal boundary during the early morning hours of the 6th. These thunderstorms quickly intensified while moving to the east. As the storms moved into Armstrong County, the County Emergency Manager reported half dollar size hail (1.25 inches) falling at FM 1151 (Armstrong County). After producing this hail the cluster of thunderstorms continued to move across the southern Texas Panhandle.
August 2014HailWashburn-Discrete thunderstorms developed across Armstrong County during the afternoon hours of the 8th. As these thunderstorms approached the town of Washburn (Armstrong County), a trained storm spotter reported golf ball size hail (1.75 inches). After producing this hail the storms continued to move to the northeast across the southern Texas Panhandle.
April 2010HailWashburn-Ham Radio Operator and trained spotter reported the hail near U.S. Highway 287 and Farm to Market Road 2373.
June 2007HailWashburn-Reported at County Road 1 and Farm to Market Road 1258.
October 2007HailWashburn-Reported seven miles east northeast of Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
June 2025HailWashburn-no account filed
March 2021HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2012HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2012HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2012HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2012HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2012HailWashburn-no account filed
November 2011HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2008HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2008HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2008HailWashburn-no account filed
April 2007HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2006HailWashburn-no account filed
August 2006Thunderstorm WindWashburn-no account filed
May 2005HailWashburn-no account filed
April 2004HailWashburn-no account filed
September 2002HailWashburn-no account filed
May 2002HailWashburn-no account filed
August 2001HailWashburn-no account filed
March 2000Thunderstorm WindWashburn-no account filed
May 1999HailWashburn-no account filed
June 1999HailWashburn-no account filed
July 1999HailWashburn-no account filed
May 1996HailWashburn-no account filed
May 1996HailWashburn-no account filed
May 1996HailWashburn-no account filed
May 1995HailWashburn-no account filed
June 1995HailWashburn-no account filed
July 1995HailWashburn-no account filed
July 1995Tornado (F1)Washburn-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Armstrong 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
Fairview5.3 miles8
Claude12.0 miles8
Malden15.3 miles8
Goodnight22.7 miles7
Wayside26.5 miles9
Paloduro32.1 miles8

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 WashburnAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7971443The 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 1370872. 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.