BlockBefore

Zephyr, Texas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Blanket census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76890. It lies near Lancaster Hill. The Survey maps it on the Zephyr quadrangle. 179 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,512 feet above sea level.

Zephyr within Brown County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 16 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.

Photographs

2 photographs, 2014

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Old roadside buildings, including a partial quonset structure, in Zephyr, an unincorporated town in Brown County, Texas
Old roadside buildings, including a partial quonset structure, in Zephyr, an unincorporated town in Brown County, Texas
Highsmith, Carol M, 2014. Library of Congress
Downtown streetscape in Zephyr, an unincorporated town in Brown County, Texas
Downtown streetscape in Zephyr, an unincorporated town in Brown County, Texas
Highsmith, Carol M, 2014. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

121 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 121 fires within 5 miles of Zephyr between 2006 and 2020, burning about 4,582 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
Debris and open burning45
Missing data/not specified/undetermined36
Equipment and vehicle use25
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Natural4
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
7 September 2013Debris and open burning2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service4601
6 September 2008Debris and open burning3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
3 September 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR259
29 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service183S
26 September 2008Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
17 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR259
16 September 2014Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR291
12 September 2008Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Brown County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Zephyr: 2 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Strontium, Barium-Barite. 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
Douglas OccurrenceStrontium, Barium-BariteOccurrenceBarite, Celestite
Hughes OccurrenceStrontium, Barium-BariteOccurrenceBarite, Celestite

Every working recorded in Brown County

Storms near this place

32 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Zephyr in 32 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 25 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1994Thunderstorm WindZephyr$50,000Thunderstorm winds gusting to 65 miles an hour destroyed a barn, broke windows and windshields, and blew down fences.
October 1997Flash FloodZephyr$8,000Two to three inches of rain flooded roads in central and southern Brown County.
October 1997Thunderstorm WindZephyr$5,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindZephyr-Law enforcement reported large tree branches blocking the road late at night. Time estimated by radar.
April 2022HailZephyr-The public reported half dollar size hail.
April 2022HailZephyr-The public reported half dollar size hail.
March 2019Tornado (EF1)Zephyr-A National Weather Service team surveyed damage in Zephyr. They found evidence of tornado damage consistent with an EF1 tornado, with estimated wind speeds from 86 to 110 mph. Along its path, the tornado overturned a small residence and threw it 50 feet from its foundation. Thankfully, the resident of the home was uninjured. The tornado tore off several roofs. It destroyed awnings and power lines, snapped power poles and trees and damaged a grandstand. The tornado wrapped the metal of a roof tightly around a tree as it blew out the wall of a store.
May 2018HailZephyr-Law enforcement reported tons of pea size hail with three inch drifts.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindZephyr-An amateur radio operator reported tree damage in Zephyr.
May 2016HailZephyr-The public reported quarter size hail 5 miles south-southwest of Zephyr on County Road 258.
May 2013Tornado (EF0)Zephyr-This tornado briefly touched down near the town of Zephyr.
May 2002HailZephyr-Public report of quarter size hail lasting for about ten minutes. The hail accumulated to three inches deep.
June 1994HailZephyr-Thunderstorm winds gusting to 65 miles an hour destroyed a barn, broke windows and windshields, and blew down fences.
May 2023HailZephyr-no account filed
May 2022HailZephyr-no account filed
April 2019HailZephyr-no account filed
May 2018HailZephyr-no account filed
May 2013HailZephyr-no account filed
May 2013HailZephyr-no account filed
May 2013HailZephyr-no account filed
May 2013HailZephyr-no account filed
May 2011HailZephyr-no account filed
June 2009HailZephyr-no account filed
June 2009HailZephyr-no account filed
March 2001HailZephyr-no account filed
October 2001HailZephyr-no account filed
September 2001HailZephyr-no account filed
October 2001HailZephyr-no account filed
April 1995HailZephyr-no account filed
March 1995HailZephyr-no account filed
May 1995HailZephyr-no account filed
October 1994HailZephyr-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Brown 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
Tenmile Crossing5.0 miles20
Fisk Crossing5.8 miles17
Antioch6.9 miles14
Ricker (historical)6.9 miles20
Delaware Junction8.6 miles14
Woodland Heights9.0 miles20
Early9.2 miles20
Blanket10.2 miles14

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 ZephyrAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3477771The 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 1350730. 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.