BlockBefore

Charleston, Kansas

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Logan Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67853. The Survey maps it on the Charleston quadrangle.

Charleston within Gray County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 12 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

1 since 2017

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Charleston in 2017, burning about 749 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/undetermined1

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
23 February 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined749 acresGray CountyINGALLS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Gray County

Storms near this place

53 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Charleston in 53 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 27 hail, 21 thunderstorm wind, 2 heavy rain, 2 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 1995Thunderstorm WindCharleston$2,000,000Rear flank downdraft damage over five miles wide and 12 miles long. Wind speeds estimated to be over 100 mph. Over 150 power poles were snapped off and 40 Pivot Sprinklers were damaged or destroyed, along with trees and fences.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindCharleston$700,000One half of a school roof was torn off by the high wind. At least 5 pivot irrigation sprinklers were overturned in the area.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindCharleston$250,0002 pivot sprinklers overturned...power poles blown down...a small airplane hanger was destroyed...a combine was rolled and crumpled up.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindCharleston$35,000Pivot irrigation sprinkler overturned.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Report was from AWN weather station 7 SSW Charleston.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Mesonet site recorded a wind gust of 63 MPH.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindCharleston-A public weather station measured a 63 mph wind gust at 10:17 PM from a thunderstorm that passed through.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindCharleston-A semi truck was blown over by the high wind.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindCharleston-A truck pulling a camper was overturned by the high wind.
October 2017HailCharleston-The hail was mostly dime sized with a few larger stones observed.
October 2017Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Large tree branches were blown down and windows were broken out at the Charleston rest area.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Winds were estimated to be 70 MPH.
April 2012Thunderstorm WindCharleston-The winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
April 2012Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH and broke branches from trees.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Charleston-A brief landspout made contact for about 2 minutes.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Charleston-A rope tornado with unspecified debris lasted 4 minutes.
August 2007Heavy RainCharleston-The 5.00 inches of rain that fell overnight was a storm total. In addition, water was reported 6 inches deep covering some rural roads.
August 2007Heavy RainCharleston-Rainfall of 4.50 was measured overnight.
August 2006HailCharleston-Vehicle windows were broken out along KS HWY 50.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Three inch diameter limbs down.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindCharleston-Three inch diameter branches blown down.
August 1997HailCharleston-Hail covered the ground.
May 2022HailCharleston-no account filed
May 2020HailCharleston-no account filed
July 2018HailCharleston-no account filed
May 2018HailCharleston-no account filed
August 2017HailCharleston-no account filed
June 2013HailCharleston-no account filed
August 2013HailCharleston-no account filed
August 2013HailCharleston-no account filed
May 2010Funnel CloudCharleston-no account filed
June 2009HailCharleston-no account filed
June 2008HailCharleston-no account filed
September 2007HailCharleston-no account filed
April 2006HailCharleston-no account filed
April 2006HailCharleston-no account filed
August 2006HailCharleston-no account filed
July 2005HailCharleston-no account filed
August 2005HailCharleston-no account filed
May 2003HailCharleston-no account filed
June 2003HailCharleston-no account filed
May 2001HailCharleston-no account filed
May 2001HailCharleston-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindCharleston-no account filed
September 1998HailCharleston-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindCharleston-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindCharleston-no account filed
June 1997HailCharleston-no account filed
July 1997HailCharleston-no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindCharleston-no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindCharleston-no account filed
May 1997HailCharleston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Gray 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
Ingalls6.4 miles12
Cimarron12.2 miles12
Wettick16.6 miles12
Montezuma19.7 miles12
Haggard20.5 miles12
Copeland22.6 miles12
Ensign22.9 miles12

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 CharlestonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q16257736The 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 471649. 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.