BlockFrom the record
4 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Thomas County, Kansas
24 topographic sheets cover 11 settlements here, and 4 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 84 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 4 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 4 buildings.
- 1 of the 4 listings was added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 11 populated places in this county; 11 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
4Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Colby City Hall | building | 2003 | 03001259 |
| Colby Community High School | building | 2003 | 03001260 | |
 | St. Thomas Hospital | building | 2013 | 12001122 |
 | Thomas County Courthouse | building | 1976 | 76000842 |
Wildfire, 2008 to 2018
30 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 30 of them, burning about 1,364 acres. None started naturally and 1 was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. One of them was set deliberately.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 November 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 acres | Kansas Counties | LEVANT |
| 7 March 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 28 |
| 20 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 30 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 23 |
| 16 July 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 54 |
| 7 March 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 7.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 18012 |
| 8 October 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 16011 |
| 16 September 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 100 |
| 23 June 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 41 |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1951 to 2025
60 of 927 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 927 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 8 injuries and about $4,061,640 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 485 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 335 |
| Tornado | 61 |
| Flash Flood | 25 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 |
| Flood | 9 |
| Lightning | 3 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2006 | Tornado (F1) | Colby | 4 hurt, $125,000 | A tornado developed approximately 2 miles south of Colby at Interstate 70 and highway 25 and traveled 5 miles to the northwest before dissipating. The tornado developed near the Oasis Travel Plaza at 649 pm CDT and dissipated at 659 pm CDT over open fields west of town. The tornado moved northwest at approximately 30 mph. A damage survey team rated the tornado an F1 on the Fujita Scale.The tornado injured 4 people as a result of flying glass and debris at the nearby Comfort Inn, which sustained damage with debris piercing the outside walls, while awnings and tables were also damaged. A 45 foot sign supported by three "I" beams was bent over to the ground. A car dealership reported damage to about 15-20 vehicles with one vehicle a total loss. Most of the damage was due to debris breaking windows and denting the vehicles. A semi truck and trailer parked at the gas station and was lifted and pushed into another truck. |
| May 1995 | Tornado (F2) | Colby | 1 hurt, $700,000 | Intermittent tornado damage included farm residence and storage buildings roofs torn off, high voltage electricty towers destroyed,irrigation rigs over-turned, trees snapped. Extensive crop damage from tornado, highs winds, and large hail. Tornado moved nearly due east at 25 mph and entered Sheridan County. One woman was slightly injured while in her home during the tornado. A mobile home was completely destroyed. |
| August 2002 | Lightning | Colby | 1 hurt | Truck driver stopped to assist at an accident site. When climbing back into his truck, lightning apparently struck near the vehicle, affecting the driver's left arm and chest. Police described the man as being in a state of shock, hyperventilating, having slurred speech, and complaining of tightness in his chest. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Levant | 1 hurt | Very strong Thunderstorm Winds over 60 MPH caused a semi-truck to overturn near Mile Marker 36 in Thomas County. The driver of the truck sustained minor injuries. Also, there were numerous reports of Golfball size Hail. Damage unknown. |
| July 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | not stated | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Colby Muni Arpt | $1,000,000 | A long-track supercell produced 25 known reports of large hail over a 30 mile path from 12 N of Colby to near Oakley over a period of about 90 minutes. Hail sizes ranged from golf ball to grapefruit size. Windows were broken, roofs heavily damaged, skylights broken and equipment destroyed. Approximately 35,000 acres of cropland were affected by the storm. Sources included public, Thomas County Farm Service Agency, amateur radio, spotters and the NSSL Shave project. |
| June 1984 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| September 1963 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| October 2011 | Tornado (EF1) | Brewster | $200,000 | The tornado developed about 4 miles SSE of Brewster near Roads 3 and M. The tornado traveled north-northeast at speeds of 50 mph, passing east of Brewster and dissipating about 4 miles northeast of Brewster near roads 4 and T. One farmstead south of Interstate 70 received damage to outbuildings, trees, a large grain bin and utility poles on the property. Fortunately only minor roof damage occurred as the large tree branches fell on the house. Further northeast several utility poles were snapped and at least one irrigation pivot was overturned. Numerous outbuildings were also damaged at a farm near Roads 4 and R as the tornado moved northeast. |
| September 2009 | Flood | Spica | $145,000 | Road 30 between Road B and C in southern Thomas County was washed out, including a bridge over the Saline River. The local utility company stated that $30,000 worth of damage occurred to power poles in the vicinity. Several nearby homes also suffered flood damage. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $100,000 | A tin shed that was unanchored was blown apart with one tree uprooted, several tree limbs down, and a portion of a rear windshield blown out of a truck. |
| March 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $100,000 | Power poles snapped. Two center pivot irrigation rigs destroyed. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Levant | $94,000 | Report received of 12 power poles snapped off near Road 9 and Road S northwest of Levant, KS by thunderstorm wind gusts. A big blue spruce tree was reported to have been uprooted as well. Time is radar estimated. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brewster | $75,000 | Straight-line winds destroyed an empty grain bin, tore some roof off of a barn and collapsed a second barn. Structural integrity of the collapsed barn prior to the damaging winds is unknown. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $75,000 | Wind gust measured at Colby airport. Several hangars suffered damage to doors, and roofing. Minor damage to aircraft and vehicles stored in the hangars also occurred. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Halford | $50,000 | Image received via social media of powerlines landing on the front of a truck hauling a race car trailer near the intersection of Hwy 83 and KS Hwy 24. The front of the trailer was crumbled due to the damage from the power lines. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $50,000 | Numerous power poles and power lines were blown down around town. Several trees were uprooted with numerous limbs down. A glass window was blown in at a car dealership and minor sign damage occurred at other businesses. A few shingles were removed from the courthouse roof. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Levant | $50,000 | On eastbound I-70 at mile marker 43 near Levant, a parked semi was overturned into the east bound traffic lanes. No injuries were reported. |
| April 2007 | Lightning | Colby | $50,000 | Time estimated based on newspaper report of other power outages in town. Owner not home at the time, but returned to find the electric meter on the home destroyed. A circuit breaker box was burned and hanging from the wall. The strike damaged the underground sprinkler system and destroyed a tree in the yard, which was estimated to have taken the direct lightning strike. The home's entire electrical system was damaged and a television damaged. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $50,000 | Straight line winds directly impacted the Colby area. These winds damaged trusses from a manufacturing plant north of Colby. A storage building and log cabin were completely destroyed at the plant by the high winds. Also, numerous homes and business sustained wind damage, such as shingles blown off roofs, windows knocked out, and siding torn off houses. The strong winds blew large tree limbs onto power lines, causing power outages throughout the area. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Colby | $50,000 | Hail accompanied by winds 50 to 70 mph destroyed crops and caused extensive damage to several farmsteads and vehicles. Damage was one to four miles wide and seven miles long. |
| June 1994 | Tornado (F1) | Colby | $50,000 | Tornado observed by spotters knocked down power poles and moved south into Logan County. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $50,000 | At least 60 mph winds downed power lines and broke windows. |
| April 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Brewster | $48,000 | Tornado affected one homestead at Roads L and 5, destroying an empty, poorly anchored grain bin. Several trees were uprooted, and minor home damage occurred. |
| May 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Mingo | $42,000 | Spotter reported a rain wrapped tornado. Damage survey revealed lots of minor damage, including damaged roofs, a destroyed center irrigation pivot, numerous trees downed, siding on houses damaged, and a small shed destroyed, among other minor damage. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spica | $40,000 | Emergency Manager relayed a report (with pictures) of roof damage to a home including part of roof being peeled off. |
| July 1996 | Tornado (F1) | Colby | $37,000 | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gem | $35,000 | Thomas County Emergency Manager reported a roof blown off a modular home while resident present. No injuries occurred. Also on the property, a utility pole was snapped with power lines down. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $25,000 | KSU Mesonet measured 62 mph wind gusts that is co-located with a blown over linear irrigation system. |
| May 1982 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Flash Flood | Colby | $20,000 | Police car had to be abandoned after 2.10 inches of rain fell in 45 minutes causing the engine to become flooded. |
| May 2009 | Lightning | Colby | $20,000 | A lightning strike affected the law enforcement dispatch center in Colby. A communications console was destroyed, the phone system was damaged, and a fire occurred at a generator switch. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altair | $18,000 | Thomas County reported a semi truck blown over at mile marker 60 on I-70 due to strong winds. No other vehicles were impacted. No injuries to driver or other vehicles involved. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mingo | $18,000 | Thomas County dispatch reported a semi truck blown over at mile marker 64 on I-70 due to strong thunderstorm winds. No injuries to driver or other vehicles involved. |
| April 2007 | Tornado (EF1) | Levant | $16,000 | Tornado developed 3.5 miles NW of Levant and continued into southern Rawlins county. No farmsteads were affected, but power pole damage occurred near Roads W, 12 and Roads AA, 14. Tree damage also reported along the path. In Thomas county, the tornado began near Roads U, 9 and exited into Rawlins county near Roads EE, 17. Total path length of tornado was 15.5 miles through the two counties. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $15,000 | Multiple power outages reported in the city of Colby with one utility pole down. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $15,000 | Local emergency management reported that severe wind gusts from a thunderstorm led to most of Colby losing power due to downed power lines. In addition, several large tree limbs were reportedly down due to thunderstorm wind gusts by local law enforcement. A large metal sign was downed in Colby which damaged cars in an adjacent parking lot. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brewster | $15,000 | A 12-inch diameter tree branch was blown onto a house in the south part of town. Power lines were also downed in strong winds. Numerous 3-5 inch diameter tree limbs were down throughout town. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Levant | $12,000 | Straight line winds winds blew over a semi truck on I-70 near County Road 9. |
| April 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mingo | $12,000 | As isolated storms moved east along the I-70 corridor, outflow associated with the storms produced strong winds up to 60 mph which blew over an empty semi truck traveling on I-70 near mile marker 61. Key Impacts: strong winds, difficult driving conditions. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $12,000 | Trees were blown down in town, some power lines were down and a couple businesses in town had windows broken. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spica | $10,000 | Straight-line winds caused a grain bin on the north side of a property to be dented near the top and pushed out the bottom third of a metal building's wall on the south side of the property. There were also some tree branches of an unknown size blown down. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $10,000 | All of Colby was reportedly without power due to thunderstorm wind damage and power lines were down. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rexford | $8,000 | Straight-line winds lifted metal roof panels off an older outbuilding. The building was in decent condition prior to the storm. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $8,000 | Wind blown gravel was likely responsible for broken windows in four vehicles in a Walmart parking lot as a strong gust of wind developed from weakening thunderstorms. A door to an air conditioning building at the store was blown in, and the garden center was damaged. In a nearby business several windows were broken in large agricultural vehicles. A nearby weather station reported a wind gust of 62 mph. |
| August 2017 | Flood | Rexford | $7,000 | A semi tipped over on Highway 83, possibly due to hydroplaning from the heavy rainfall. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spica | $6,000 | A picture of at least 1 power pole blown over along Highway 83 and CR C. |
| May 2023 | Flash Flood | Colby | $5,000 | Water from heavy rain was spilling over the banks of the Villa High Park pond and going over car hoods. Water was also running over street gutters near the park. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $5,000 | A member of the public reported thunderstorm wind damage on the west side of Colby in the form of downed power lines. |
| September 2016 | Hail | Menlo | $5,000 | A house in town had the siding severely damaged from the hail. The exact size of the hail is unknown. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds knocked down crops and tore down three inch diamter branches. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gem | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew off 36 square feet of roofing from barn. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Gem | $5,000 | Hail broke several windows and destroyed crops. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colby | $3,000 | Power lines blown down along with large tree limbs on the northeast side of Colby. |
| September 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gem | $3,000 | Two trees were blown down, one was split in half. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brewster | $3,000 | Strong winds uprotted trees and blew over tower. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gem | $2,500 | Several large Oak tree branches blown down, with one branch landing on the back of a van without causing significant damage. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Breton | $2,500 | One section of a seven section irrigation pivot was overturned by thunderstorm outflow winds. |
| June 2002 | Tornado (F1) | Levant | $2,500 | Weak tornado moved slowly north at approximately 15 mph, traveling mainly across open fields. An irrigation circle was damaged. |
| May 1981 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $2,500 | no account filed |
Mines and quarries
2 recordedThe Survey's mineral resources record lists 2 workings inside this county. 1 still produces and 1 is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 2 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeds Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Siebert Sand Fulton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Every populated place in the county
11Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
Provenance
- Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
- Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
- Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
- 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.