Wheeler, Texas
6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Wheeler census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79096. The Survey maps it on the Wheeler quadrangle. 1,487 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,507 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresWheeler fell from 1,592 to 1,487 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 | 1,592 | |
| 2020 | 1,487 | -105 (-7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 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 Amarillo quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Amarillo quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Wheeler quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1983 USGS Shamrock quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
132 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 132 fires within 5 miles of Wheeler between 2006 and 2020, burning about 7,068 acres in total. 24 started naturally. 12 were 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 32 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 |
| Natural | 24 |
| Debris and open burning | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 12 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 12 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Smoking | 2 |
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 2012 | Natural | 20 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | CHARLES MOORE |
| 4 September 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | WHEELER FEED YARD |
| 15 September 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | STACK LOT |
| 15 September 2013 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 67-13 |
| 10 September 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 66-13 |
| 1 September 2010 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | JACK HELTON |
| 1 September 2010 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | CHRISTNER |
| 8 August 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 642018 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 130 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wheeler in 130 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 93 hail, 25 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | 1 hurt | Multiple trees and power lines down throughout the town of Wheeler. 5 people trapped in a home, roof collapsed. One house destroyed in northwest Wheeler. Tree fell on vehicle trapping two people. One person transported to hospital with injuries. |
| April 2001 | Tornado (F2) | Wheeler | $150,000 | An official storm damage survey was made of the estimated tornado path length and width. A home and farm equipment were severely damaged. Several large trees and power poles were also knocked down. Several areas of non-tornadic downburst winds were also assessed...primarily in the west and southwest areas of Wheeler county. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Wheeler | $75,000 | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | $36,000 | Several roofs blown off along with several power poles down. |
| March 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | $21,000 | Whole cottonwood trees were blown over by the high winds. Powerlines and power poles were blown down. Overhead doors blown out of a barn. No injuries were reported. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | $9,000 | A power pole was blown down and multiple large tree branches were snapped across the town. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | $7,000 | A car port was blown over and windows to a sports utility vehicle were blown out by thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | $6,000 | Trampoline was blown over and onto a house. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | $5,000 | HVAC ducting blown off of a roof. Public report relayed by broadcast media. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | $5,000 | An off-duty National Weather Service employee reported that there were power poles blown down and there was also some damage to tree limbs. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Wheeler | $3,000 | A trained spotter reported that the large hail had broken the windows of a residence. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | The mesonet station located four miles east of Wheeler measured a 63mph wind gust from some showers that moved across the area. |
| August 2023 | Flood | Wheeler | - | Law enforceement reported water covering the road on HWY 152 near the feed lot. |
| May 2019 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Late report of pea to penny size hail, time estimated from radar. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | Trees uprooted. Time estimated by radar. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | Late report of 2 homes with roof damage. The first had the metal roof completely torn off and the other had a quarter of the roof shredded. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | Wheeler RAWS site recorded 66 MPH peak gust. |
| June 2018 | Tornado (EF0) | Wheeler | - | This brief tornado began at 1021 PM CDT 2 miles northwest of Wheeler, Texas and ended at 1022 PM CDT approximately 1 mile northwest of Wheeler, Texas. The tornado had a path length of about 0.6 miles, and a path width of 50 yards. This tornado was rated EF-0 with an estimated peak wind speed of 80 to 85 mph. EF-0 damage occurred to trees, barns, and 5 homes. One manufactured home was completely destroyed. The other homes had roof damage. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Late report of dime to quarter sized hail, with up to half an inch of rain measured. Time of report estimated from radar. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | Late report of trees up to 2 feet diameter being felled close to the trunk due to thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2018 | Funnel Cloud | Wheeler | - | Local ABC affiliate webcam capturing high based funnel cloud with thunderstorm. |
| May 2018 | Funnel Cloud | Wheeler | - | Storm chaser video showed a funnel cloud. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Report received from the spotter network. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Report received by Twitter. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Report relayed from Broadcast Media. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Broadcast media relayed the report of baseball sized hail. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | Multiple power poles snapped, power lines down, and trees down on highway 83. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Quarter size hail was reported two miles east of Wheeler. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wheeler | - | One inch hail fell in Wheeler. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Quarter size hail fell on Highway 83, 5 miles north of Wheeler. No significant hail accumulation was noted, although minor street flooding occurred in Wheeler. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Quarter size hail fell in Wheeler. No significant hail accumulation occurred. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Golf ball size hail fell in Wheeler. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Wheeler | - | The public estimated 2 inch diameter hail in Wheeler. A specific location was not obtained but radar data indicates the most likely location would have been the southeast side of town. No damage was reported. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Quarter size hail was reported in Wheeler. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Tennis ball size hail was reported 2 miles east-northeast of Wheeler by a storm chaser. |
| May 2015 | Flash Flood | Wheeler | - | Heavy rain caused flooding in a few locations in Wheeler County. Flash flooding was reported on Highway 152 between County Road 16 and 17, where 6 to 12 inches of water covered the road. Flooding was also reported one mile west of Shamrock, where the Interstate 40 service road was impassable. |
| April 2014 | Hail | Wheeler | - | A supercell approached the city of Wheeler (Wheeler County) during the early evening hours of the 20th. A law enforcement official in the town of Wheeler (Wheeler County) reported golf ball (1.75 inches) size hail. The storms that produced this hail continued to slowly move to the southeast after producing this hail. |
| May 2009 | Hail | Wheeler | - | The fire department reported dime to quarter size hail. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Wheeler | - | The Wheeler Fire Department reported the hail at 12th Street and Canadian Street. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Wheeler | - | The hail was reported to be covering the ground. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Hail was reported south of Wheeler on U.S. Highway 83. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Golf ball to lemon size hail reported by the Wheeler County Sheriff's Office. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | Report of six to ten inch diameter tree branches blown down along State Highway 152. |
| July 2004 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Trained spotter lives right on the Hemphill and Wheeler county line. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wheeler | - | Reported by local school net site. |
| April 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Wheeler | - | The tornado remained over open country. The tornado path length and width were estimated. No damgae or injuries occurred from this tornado. |
| May 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Wheeler | - | The tornado remained over open country. No damage or injuries were reported. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Reported at intersection of Highways 1046 and 48. |
| March 1995 | Hail | Wheeler | - | Wheeler County Sheriff's Office reported dime- to quarter-size hail. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Wheeler | - | The sheriff's office reported dime size hail. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Wheeler | - | A significant severe weather day with five tornadoes and hail up to softball-size. Damage in Pampa was estimate at over $200,000. The majority of the remaining damage occurred to automobile along highway corridors. All five tornadoes we over open county and were reported by Skywarn spotters, Vortex spotters or local TV meteorologists. |
| June 2023 | Flash Flood | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| February 2012 | Hail | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Wheeler | - | no account filed |
| April 2012 | Hail | Wheeler | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic City | 8.3 miles | 6 | |
| Kelton | 8.9 miles | 5 | |
| Twitty | 9.3 miles | 6 | |
| Briscoe | 9.6 miles | 5 | |
| Mobeetie | 10.2 miles | 5 | |
| New Mobeetie | 10.8 miles | 5 | |
| Gageby | 12.6 miles | 5 | |
| Kellerville | 13.3 miles | 5 |
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 Wheeler | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q979821 | 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 1371329. 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.



