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West, Texas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the West census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76691. The Survey maps it on the West quadrangle. 2,531 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 650 feet above sea level.

West within McLennan County

Population over time

2 figures

West fell from 2,807 to 2,531 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
20102,807
20202,531-276 (-10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 14 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

148 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 148 fires within 5 miles of West between 2005 and 2020, burning about 756 acres in total. 4 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/undetermined81
Debris and open burning42
Equipment and vehicle use15
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Natural4
Recreation and ceremony1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
9 September 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceBRUSH FIRE BRICKYARD RD 1833
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS-HWY
7 September 2016Equipment and vehicle use50 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE
6 September 2013Debris and open burning5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service518 HCR 2233
5 September 2008Debris and open burning10 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
28 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE
28 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE
27 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McLennan County

Storms near this place

35 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West in 35 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 15 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2001Tornado (F2)West$500,000The second McLennan county tornado touched down just southwest of Tokio then moved east northeast and dissipated 1.3 miles east of West. Homes, a church, and several businesses were damaged in Tokio. After moving through Tokio, the tornado moved along FM 1858, causing heavy damage to wood-frame structures, mobile homes, storage buildings, and minor damage to several brick homes. As the tornado moved across the extreme southern edge of West, several homes and storage buildings were damaged.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindWest$75,000Twenty three portable buildings were destroyed, and the compost building at West Egg Products was destroyed.
August 2012Heavy RainWest$65,000Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms throughout the day produced rain-slicked roads across the area. According to the Texas Department of Public Service in McLennan County, 13 minor accidents were reported along I-35 in the county. Five people were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
October 1993Tornado (F1)West$50,000A tornado moved through the southern part of West, damaging some houses, trees and a large feed bin.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindWest$25,000A mobile home was destroyed by high winds.
April 2026HailWest$17,000A storm chaser reported 3 inch hail on Cottonwood near North Czech Hall Road.
April 2026HailWest$15,000Baseball size hail was reported between West and Penelope via social media.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindWest$5,000Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
November 1994Thunderstorm WindWest$5,000Power lines were blown down by high winds.
October 1993Tornado (F0)West$5,000A second tornado moved through the northern part of West, damaging some trees, but with less damage than the first. Thunderstorm winds blew down some trees nearby.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindWest$4,000At a residence near West, high winds knocked a temporary building on its side. Tree damage and other minor building damage was also reported. Power outages were also reported in town.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindWest$3,000A 61 mph wind gust was measured in West.
October 2009FloodWest$2,000Locations and roadways near creeks and large bodies of water were flooded. Locations along the Bosque River in the northwestern portions of the county experienced flooding problems due to the swollen river. The Eichelberger Crossing bridge over the Bosque River had to be closed. Some parks around Lake Waco were also closed due to overflow from the lake.
March 2004Thunderstorm WindWest$2,000An 18 wheeler was blown over on Interstate 35.
May 2017HailWest$1,500Social Media reported golf ball size hail in West. Time was estimated by radar.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindWest$1,000Broadcast media reported that a large tree was uprooted and a small shed was overturned in the city of West along Reagan Street.
May 2017HailWest$1,000Emergency Manager reported hail up to quarter size in West.
November 2025HailWest-An mPing report indicated dime sized hail in the city of West.
March 2022HailWest-Broadcast media reported nickel sized hail in West, TX.
May 2021HailWest-A public report indicated quarter sized hail near the city of West, TX.
April 2017Flash FloodWest-Broadcast media reported flooding along I-35 between the cities of West and Ross.
May 2015Flash FloodWest-Emergency management reported that the northbound ramp to Interstate 35 at FM 1858 was closed due to high water.
April 2012HailWest-Quarter sized hail was reported 2 miles south-southwest of West.
April 2009HailWest-Quarter size hail fell in West.
April 2009HailWest-Quarter size hail was reported 6.4 miles southwest of West by a COCORAHS observer.
March 2007Funnel CloudWest-Reports of funnels along the McClennan/Hill County line.
May 2006HailWest-Reported by cooperative observer.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindWest-Large tree limbs were blown down by high winds near Bruceville.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindWest-Thunderstorm winds downed trees. No dollar estimate of damage was reported.
October 1993Thunderstorm WindWest-A second tornado moved through the northern part of West, damaging some trees, but with less damage than the first. Thunderstorm winds blew down some trees nearby.
May 2004HailWest-no account filed
June 1996HailWest-no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindWest-no account filed
April 1995HailWest-no account filed
October 1993HailWest-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McLennan 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
Cottonwood3.2 miles14
Tours4.1 miles14
Wiggins4.5 miles15
Tokio4.6 miles15
Hoen5.8 miles7
Ross6.0 miles18
Leroy6.3 miles18
Rogers Hill7.5 miles18

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 WestAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q982230The 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 1349669. 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.