Welch, Texas
6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Lamesa Northwest census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79377. The Survey maps it on the Welch West quadrangle. 234 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,120 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresWelch grew from 222 to 234 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 | 222 | |
| 2020 | 234 | +12 (+5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 6 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 Hobbs quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Hobbs quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Welch West quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Seminole quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Seminole quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
11 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Welch between 2005 and 2017, burning about 1,250 acres in total. 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 August 2014 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 20 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | ROBERTS FIRE |
| 11 August 2006 | Natural | 200 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 17 June 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 30 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | OXY 1 |
| 15 June 2012 | Natural | 150 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | OXY 83 |
| 26 April 2015 | Natural | 50 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | OXY 15 |
| 5 February 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 27 February 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | WELCH |
| 26 February 2010 | Debris and open burning | 100 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | CR 690 AND CR 705 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
32 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Welch in 32 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 14 hail, 2 tornado, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1997 | Hail | Welch | $300,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $50,000 | An intense microburst with winds of 80 MPH affected the town of Welch resulting in damage. Farm equipment was destroyed. Lights at the football stadium were also blown down. There were no reports of significant structural damage or injuries, however, minor roof damage occurred. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $15,000 | A transformer block was knocked off a power pole towards the south. An empty semi-trailer was also flipped on its side at this location. The time of occurrence is estimated from radar. The maximum gust and cost of damages is also estimated. |
| August 2002 | Flash Flood | Welch | $10,000 | Intense downpours resulting from the microburst caused flash flooding in Welch. At least one car was stranded in the flood waters with water up to the windows. No injuries were reported. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | $500 | A stop sign was broken away from its base. The time of occurrence is estimated from radar, as is the maximum wind gust. |
| March 1993 | Hail | Welch | $500 | The Dawson County Sheriff's Office reported golfball-size hail in Welch. The hail fell for 15 minutes and resulted in minor damage to vehicles and crops in the area. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | The West Texas Mesonet station 96 Welch measured a number of gusts between 60-80 mph, with the maximum gust reaching 77 mph. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | The West Texas Mesonet station 96 WELCH Dawson County measured a 65 mph wind gust, along with several other severe gusts associated with a strong outflow boundary. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | The West Texas Mesonet station 96 WELCH Dawson County recorded a couple of severe wind gusts over this 10 minute span of time. The strongest gust was 67 mph. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced a 58 mph wind gust at the mesonet site in Welch. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced a 62 mph wind gust at the Welch mesonet site. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced a 72 mph wind gust at the Welch mesonet site. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced a 62 mph wind gust at the Welch mesonet site. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced a 75 mph wind gust at the Welch mesonet site. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced a 72 mph wind gust in Welch. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced a 58 mph wind gust in Welch. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Welch | - | Storm spotters reported large hail to the size of golfballs across the northern half of Dawson County. The golfball size hail began in Welch and tracked southeast to the intersection of Highway 137 and Farm to Market Road 1064. As the storm continued southeast nickel to quarter size hail with occassional stones as large as golfballs was reported five miles north of Lamesa on Highway 87. |
| May 2000 | Hail | Welch | - | Second cell developed on southern flank of cell #1 and continued northeast into southern Lynn Co. |
| May 2000 | Hail | Welch | - | Intense single cell storm. Developed in Gaines County and moved northeast into NW Dawson. |
| April 1997 | Tornado (F1) | Welch | - | This third tornado formed in open country northeast of Welch and was very short-lived. The storm then entered southwestern Lynn County (see Lubbock synopsis). |
| June 1995 | Hail | Welch | - | The Gaines County LP supercell moved east into northwestern Dawson County, across the Welch Community. The storm produced hail up to softball-size and a brief tornado. The storm then turned to the southeast, and passed across Lamesa. Softball-size hail was again reported, this time on the north side of Lamesa. Spotters and storm chasers reported a tornado formation two miles northwest of the FM829 and FM2052 intersection. Neither tornado caused any notable damage. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Welch | - | The Gaines County LP supercell moved east into northwestern Dawson County, across the Welch Community. The storm produced hail up to softball-size and a brief tornado. The storm then turned to the southeast, and passed across Lamesa. Softball-size hail was again reported, this time on the north side of Lamesa. Spotters and storm chasers reported a tornado formation two miles northwest of the FM829 and FM2052 intersection. Neither tornado caused any notable damage. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Welch | - | The Gaines County LP supercell moved east into northwestern Dawson County, across the Welch Community. The storm produced hail up to softball-size and a brief tornado. The storm then turned to the southeast, and passed across Lamesa. Softball-size hail was again reported, this time on the north side of Lamesa. Spotters and storm chasers reported a tornado formation two miles northwest of the FM829 and FM2052 intersection. Neither tornado caused any notable damage. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Welch | - | The Gaines County LP supercell moved east into northwestern Dawson County, across the Welch Community. The storm produced hail up to softball-size and a brief tornado. The storm then turned to the southeast, and passed across Lamesa. Softball-size hail was again reported, this time on the north side of Lamesa. Spotters and storm chasers reported a tornado formation two miles northwest of the FM829 and FM2052 intersection. Neither tornado caused any notable damage. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Welch | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Tornado (F1) | Welch | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pride | 2.7 miles | 6 | |
| Punkin Center | 6.6 miles | 6 | |
| Grandview | 7.0 miles | 8 | |
| Mungerville | 10.7 miles | 6 | |
| Hindman | 13.5 miles | 8 | |
| Arvana | 13.8 miles | 8 | |
| Sand | 15.5 miles | 6 | |
| Hancock | 15.8 miles | 8 |
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 Welch | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q979081 | 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 1376674. 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.




