BlockBefore

Cedar Vale, Kansas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Jefferson Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67024. The Survey maps it on the Cedar Vale West quadrangle. 476 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 948 feet above sea level.

Cedar Vale within Chautauqua County

On record in Cedar Vale

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Cedar Vale fell from 579 to 476 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
2010579
2020476-103 (-18%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

6 since 2017

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Cedar Vale between 2017 and 2020, burning about 148 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Equipment and vehicle use2
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
6 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined100 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
3 March 2020Misuse of fire by a minor40 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
16 March 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreChautauqua County3162017
21 February 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresChautauqua County22117
31 December 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreKansas Forest Service254
28 January 2018Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresKansas Forest Service2

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Chautauqua County

Storms near this place

60 of 142 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cedar Vale in 142 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 66 hail, 58 thunderstorm wind, 7 flash flood, 6 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 2013Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$100,000Estimated winds up to 85 mph caused a swath of damage from Cedar Vale to 9 miles northwest of Sedan. Numerous trees, power lines, and limbs were reported down. The swath was estimated to be 2 to 3 miles wide. An estimated 9 power poles were laying across highway 99.
June 2007Flash FloodCedar Vale$100,000The CO-OP observer in Cedar Vale measured 7.2 inches of rain which lead to flooding of his residence. 6 inches of rain was also measured in the town of Chautauqua. Flash flooding was also reported in Sedan where numerous city streets were inundated.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$20,000The estimated winds of 80 mph blew about 50 percent of a roof off of a home.
April 2012Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$15,000A couple of power poles were downed with power outages reported.
February 2012Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$15,000Winds estimated around 80 mph produced some damage across Cedar Vale. Power lines were downed, tree limbs 10 inches in diameter were downed, and the announcer's box roof at the ball field blew off. Additionally, ping pong ball size hail accompanied these severe winds.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$15,000Severe winds tore the roof off of a gas station.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$10,000A tree was downed onto a building. The extent of damage is unknown, therefore property damage amounts are rough estimates.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$10,000Some power flashes were noted with a few powerlines knocked down.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$5,000Tree fell onto a house.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$5,000Several pieces of tin torn off a barn.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$3,000The strong winds stripped siding from a house.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$2,000Several street signs and tree limbs of 5 to 6 inches in diameter were snapped off of trees.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale$500Tree limbs were downed.
April 1994HailCedar Vale$500no account filed
February 1993HailCedar Vale$500no account filed
February 1993HailCedar Vale$500no account filed
April 2026HailCedar Vale-The ground was covered with pea to quarter size hail.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Wind gusts were estimated between 60 and 70 mph.
August 2025Flash FloodCedar Vale-There was a report of water over the bridge just southwest of the cemetery and much of the road leading up to the bridge was under water as well.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Wind gusts up to 60 mph were estimated.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Emergency manager had an estimated 60 mph wind that lasted for 10 to 15 minutes.
April 2024Flash FloodCedar Vale-Emergency manager relayed quite a bit of road damage with roads washed out completely north of Cedar Vale due to rapid rises on the Caney River and its associated creeks. At Road 6 and Quivira, a rainfall gauge had 6.4 inches of rain through the following morning, but it overfilled before getting the complete total.
April 2024Heavy RainCedar Vale-A public report relayed via emergency management of an estimated 6.4 inches of rain at Road 6 and Quivira Road. The gage overflowed thus the full measurement is unknown. Additional rainfall reports were received in the county ranging from 4.02 inches in Sedan to 3.77 inches near Hale by cooperative observers. There was quite a bit of flooding and associated road damage in the western portion of the county due to rises on rivers, creeks and streams.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-A camper trailer was blown over and off of Highway 166 near the Cowley-Chautauqua county line. Nearby, a video showed a barn was severely damaged along with several power lines and trees snapped or down.
June 2022Heavy RainCedar Vale-A mesonet station near Cedarvale reported 1.22 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
May 2020HailCedar Vale-The dime to nickel size hail covered the ground.
September 2019Tornado (EFU)Cedar Vale-This was a brief event that caused no damage.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Tree damage was reported across town along with the awning at the city pool being blown off.
May 2018Tornado (EF0)Cedar Vale-Brief touchdown in open country outside of town.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-The winds were estimated up to 60 mph. Numerous limbs were downed along with some blowing debris.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-The caller estimated 60 to 70 mph winds. The time of the event was estimated from radar.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-A trained spotter measured the 77-mph gust on a home weather station. The time is estimated from radar. No damage was reported.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-A law enforcement officer estimated the gust.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-A trained spotter reported the gust.
April 2015HailCedar Vale-Winds of 70 to 75 mph were also reported.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Quarter sized hail was also reported.
May 2015FloodCedar Vale-Reports of minor street flooding was noted at many low water crossings across the county.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Damage to several trees were noted across the area along with several downed power lines. Wind speed up to 70 mph were reported.
September 2014Tornado (EF1)Cedar Vale-Nice cone tornado move across open country across the county causing damage to a couple of barns and several trees. One barn was completely collapsed and another lost some of the metal roofing.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-The winds were estimated at between 70 and 80 mph.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-No damage was reported.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Some minor damage was reported to a few structures.
May 2013HailCedar Vale-Fifty five mile per hour winds were also reported.
April 2012HailCedar Vale-The hail covered the ground.
February 2012HailCedar Vale-Winds estimated around 80 mph accompanied the large hail.
November 2011HailCedar Vale-The hail was mostly dime to quarter size, but a few were up to golfball size. The hail occurred with 50 mph winds.
February 2011Tornado (EF0)Cedar Vale-The tornado touched down briefly over open country. No damage was noted with this tornado.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-A trained spotter reported an estimated wind gust of 60 mph.
June 2011Heavy RainCedar Vale-Heavy rains caused minor flooding of rural land across the county.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Wind gusts were estimated at around 60 mph.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-The strong winds were accompanied by pea sized hail.
October 2010HailCedar Vale-Winds estimated at 50 mph occurred with the hail.
March 2010HailCedar Vale-Pea to penny sized hail covered the ground.
May 2009HailCedar Vale-Winds also gusted to 45 mph.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindCedar Vale-Cedar Vale experienced a power outage due to the wind.
May 2009HailCedar Vale-The hail was accompanied with 50 mph winds.
June 2008FloodCedar Vale-Very heavy rainfall in a short period of time caused some flooding across Chautauqua County from the early morning to early afternoon hours on the 28th. Water covered parts of Highway 99 just west of Sedan, and typical low water crossings flooded in and around Cedar Vale. Any potential damage estimates are unknown.
June 2005Flash FloodCedar Vale-Water flowed over Gallup Road Bridge.
April 2004HailCedar Vale-Hail covered ground, making roads slick.
April 2003Tornado (F0)Cedar Vale-Remained in the country.

Every storm recorded in Chautauqua 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
Osro4.3 miles14
Layton5.1 miles14
Wauneta6.4 miles14
Hewins6.5 miles14
Cloverdale8.5 miles13
Gibbs9.5 miles13
Rogers12.1 miles13
Elgin13.7 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 Cedar ValeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2231565The 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 469099. 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.