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Alma, Kansas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Alma Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66401. It stands on South Branch Mill Creek. The Survey maps it on the Alma quadrangle. 802 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,106 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Alma within Wabaunsee County

On record in Alma

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 8 records

Population over time

2 figures

Alma fell from 832 to 802 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
2010832
2020802-30 (-4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 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.

Fires near this place

18 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Alma between 2015 and 2020, burning about 208 acres in total. None 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 burning13
Equipment and vehicle use3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

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
18 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWabaunsee County52
3 July 2018Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresKansas Forest Service58
12 July 2018Equipment and vehicle use25 acresKansas Forest Service61
2 May 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresKansas Forest Service32
14 April 2020Debris and open burning10 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
21 March 2015Debris and open burning25 acresKansas Forest Service24
21 March 2015Debris and open burning10 acresKansas Forest Service25
20 March 2015Debris and open burning10 acresKansas Forest Service23

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Wabaunsee County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Alma: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Stuewe QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Wabaunsee County

Storms near this place

60 of 81 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alma in 81 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 39 hail, 27 thunderstorm wind, 7 flash flood, 4 tornado. 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
May 1995HailAlma$400,000Large hail driven by 60 to 80 mph winds caused widespread damage throughout the north half of the county. Many windows were broken, siding chip and riped and vehicles damaged. Several school buildings suffered enough damage to cancel class for at least a day.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindAlma$381,000Strong winds blew down beams on a new high school under construction in Alma.
March 2002Thunderstorm WindAlma$6,000Strong winds blew down trees and damaged several buildings.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindAlma$4,000Strong winds damaged several buildings in Alma.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindAlma$3,000Strong winds blew down power lines and tore off tree limbs.
October 1998LightningAlma$1,000Lightning struck a car traveling on K-99 highway destroying a ham radio and burning off a ham radio antenna and produced burns on the trunk.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindAlma$500no account filed
August 2004LightningAlma$400Lightning struck a home and damaged an air conditioner.
April 2026Tornado (EF0)Alma-Intermittent tree limb damage noted along this short path.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlma-Delayed Report, time estimated from radar. Brief downburst from otherwise non-severe storms. Third of shop roof was blown off and over the house. The house's garage door was blown inward. A basketball goal with cement footing was blown over. Event was captured on doorbell camera.
March 2024HailAlma-Ping pong ball size hail was reported in Alma.
March 2024HailAlma-Softball size hail reported by law enforcement southwest of Alma.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindAlma-Estimated 60 mph gust.
August 2022HailAlma-Ping pong ball sized hail reported.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Report of 60 mph wind gust.
June 2022HailAlma-Quarter sized hail reported.
October 2018Thunderstorm WindAlma-Estimated wind gust.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindAlma-Wind gusts estimated.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindAlma-Wind gusts estimated.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindAlma-Small limbs down with pea size hail. Time estimated from radar.
July 2010Flash FloodAlma-Local law enforcement reported several areas of water one foot deep flowing across Old K-10 Road in between Alma and Alta Vista.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindAlma-Law enforcement officers and trained spotters from across Wabaunsee County estimated 60 mph wind gusts.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindAlma-A couple spotters near the community of Alma reported 60 mph wind gusts. Some small tree limbs approximately 1 to 2 inches wide were broken as a result of the winds. One spotter reported that the wind lasted approximately 10 minutes at the residence.
April 2009Flash FloodAlma-Police officers reported locations along and near Hwy 99. Notably, several inches of water was reported to be flowing over Hwy 18 just west of it's intersection with Hwy 99. Water was also reported to be flowing over several portions of Hwy 99 near Alma, and on Paxico Road near Newberry.
July 2008Flash FloodAlma-Water reported to have been flowing over K-99. The road was closed from just north of the town of Alma northward to the I-70 interchange. The Alma Food Mart, loacated in the town of Alma, suffered extensive roof damage as a result of the heavy rain. Approximately three inches of rain fell in town, and the roof of the store was already structurally compromised by hailstorms earlier in the summer. The Alma Grade School and Wabaunsee High School also reported water damage as a result of the heavy rain, and hail damage from previous storms. Residents near each school also noted extensive run-off through their yards.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindAlma-Trees blown over Highway 99.
June 2008HailAlma-One off-duty NWS employee and several storm spotters called in hail from the size of pennies to the size of quarters along the path of the storm, including on the north side of Alma.
June 2008HailAlma-A report of a measured four inch hailstone that fell in the town of Alma.
October 2007HailAlma-Hail fell for 5 minutes and covered the ground.
May 2007Funnel CloudAlma-Several reports of this funnel cloud.
May 2007Tornado (EF0)Alma-Brief touchdown from a mini-supercell, 2 miles southeast of Interstate 70 near Alma.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindAlma-Large tree reported to have blown down.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindAlma-Trees reported down just north of town.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindAlma-Power lines down.
June 2004Flash FloodAlma-Heavy rain caused runoff to flow over K99 highway north of Alma.
June 2001Flash FloodAlma-Heavy rains from thunderstorms in the area caused flooding of many roads in the county for a time.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindAlma-Large tree limbs were downed.
June 1999FloodAlma-Heavy rains of one to 3 inches in less than a one hour time period caused flooding in the Alma area. Some roads and small bridges were inundated by flood water for a time.
May 1999Tornado (F0)Alma-The fourth tornado touched down over open country north of Alma and moved a short distance over open country before dissipating.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindAlma-High winds knocked down trees and tree limbs.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindAlma-Winds were estimated at 50 to 60 mph by the public. No damage was reported or observed.
June 2015HailAlma-no account filed
September 2015HailAlma-no account filed
June 2013HailAlma-no account filed
May 2011HailAlma-no account filed
August 2010HailAlma-no account filed
May 2009HailAlma-no account filed
June 2008HailAlma-no account filed
June 2008HailAlma-no account filed
June 2008HailAlma-no account filed
September 2007Thunderstorm WindAlma-no account filed
October 2007HailAlma-no account filed
March 2006HailAlma-no account filed
September 2005HailAlma-no account filed
July 2004Flash FloodAlma-no account filed
April 2003HailAlma-no account filed
July 2003HailAlma-no account filed
July 2003HailAlma-no account filed
July 2003HailAlma-no account filed
May 2002HailAlma-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wabaunsee 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
Allendorph1.9 miles16
McFarland3.7 miles16
Paxico7.5 miles16
Newbury7.6 miles16
Volland7.9 miles15
Hessdale8.3 miles16
Wabaunsee9.4 miles17
Vera10.9 miles16

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 AlmaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2461619The 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 476598. 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.