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Columbus, Kansas

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Columbus City. It lies in ZIP code area 66725. The Survey maps it on the Columbus quadrangle. 2,929 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 912 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Columbus within Cherokee County

On record in Columbus

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Columbus fell from 3,312 to 2,929 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
20103,312
20202,929-383 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 20 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

43 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 43 fires within 5 miles of Columbus between 2015 and 2018, burning about 86 acres in total. None started naturally. 7 were 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/undetermined24
Debris and open burning12
Arson/incendiarism7

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
8 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresCherokee County221
29 September 2017Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCherokee County237
25 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreCherokee County234
4 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreKansas Forest Service213
28 July 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service141
25 July 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service144
24 June 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCherokee County168
24 June 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCherokee County166

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cherokee County

Storms near this place

60 of 137 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Columbus in 137 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 51 thunderstorm wind, 44 hail, 33 flash flood, 3 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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
March 2026Thunderstorm WindColumbus1 hurt, $25,000Thunderstorm winds caused the side of a house to blow in and collapse. There was one injury.
June 2007Flash FloodColumbus$1,150,000Another stationary band of heavy rain occurred on the night of June 11th and the morning of June 12th. In response, significant flooding occurred in all areas of the county. The Spring and Neosho rivers remained flooded, causing damage to homes and several road systems.
May 2020HailColumbus$250,000Hail to the size of golf balls fell in the towns of Columbus and Crestline. Roof and vehicle damage occurred along the path of hail.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindColumbus$175,000A portion of the Central Junior High School Gym roof was damaged by severe thunderstorm winds. This allowed rainfall to to enter the gym with nearly four inches of standing water accumulating on the gym floor.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindColumbus$100,000A derecho caused major damage to areas of extreme southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri during the early morning hours of July 4th. In Cherokee County Kansas, golf ball size hail and winds in excess of 70 mph damaged many homes and farm structures countywide. One mobile home was completely destroyed as it rolled over several times while the storm passed. Occupants had moved into a storm shelter prior to the storm and no injuries occurred.
April 1998HailColumbus$100,000Hail, up to golf ball size, fell in the Columbus area accumulating to a depth of two inches. There was extensive car and roof damage, especially in the north part of town. Numerous reports of funnel clouds were received in the area, but no tornado touchdowns were confirmed.
April 1999Tornado (F1)Columbus$100,000no account filed
May 2011HailColumbus$50,000no account filed
May 2025Thunderstorm WindColumbus$32,000A tree fell down onto a house and a truck. Additionally, multiple powerlines and trees were down around town.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindColumbus$30,000Several power poles were reported broken with downed power lines and power outages.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindColumbus$25,000Several trees and power lines were reported down.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindColumbus$25,000Several large trees were downed by high winds across the city. Some minor roof and structural damage was reported.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindColumbus$25,000A National Weather Service storm survey found evidence of 75 mph straight line winds causing some tree damage and minor structure damage west southwest of Columbus.
July 1996Thunderstorm WindColumbus$25,000no account filed
February 2017HailColumbus$20,000There several reports of damage to cars with the golf ball size hail.
February 2017HailColumbus$20,000There were several reports of damage to cars with the golf ball size hail.
August 2020HailColumbus$15,000A picture of hail to the size of tennis balls was received via social media from a rural part of the county. Minor roof and vehicle damage occurred to the farm stead where the hail occurred.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000Emergency management suspects that a microburst hit the town of Columbus. Several trees of all sizes were destroyed along with one roof on a garage that was ripped off.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000Several trees were down in the city of Columbus. One tree fell on a house causing damage.
April 2008Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000Severe thunderstorm wind gusts destroyed a barn.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindColumbus$10,000no account filed
February 2017Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000Several small outbuildings and sheds were damaged. There was a home with shingles blown off the roof.
October 2017Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000A four foot diameter tree was blown down near 30th Street and Highway 69. There was hail damage to the house siding and roof damage. Time was estimated by radar.
May 2015Flash FloodColumbus$5,000A swift water rescue was performed on the northwest side of Columbus. A small creek flooded a county road and a mother with two children had to be rescued from their vehicle.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000Several trees and power poles were blown down.
March 2007Flash FloodColumbus$5,000Thunderstorms producing heavy rain continued to develop over portions of southeast Kansas causing flash flooding of several creeks and tributaries. Brush Creek near Columbus flooded Clems Road east of Highway 69. A portion of Highway K-7 was closed to traffic by the Kansas Department of Transportation after it was damaged by flowing water and collapsed. The intersection of Highways 69 and 103 was also underwater and impassable to motorists near Weir. Four miles west of Lawton, roads east and west of the intersection of Lawton Road and NW 40th Street were under as much as six feet of water.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000Large trees were uprooted and power lines blown down in the Mineral and Scammon areas.
May 1993Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000A series of slow moving thunderstorms produced winds near 70 miles an hour that caused tree and power line damage. They also dropped large hail in a few spots and widespread heavy rain that resulted in flash flooding.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindColumbus$5,000no account filed
April 1998Thunderstorm WindColumbus$3,000Thunderstorm winds downed power lines and damaged a transformer.
September 1999Thunderstorm WindColumbus$3,000no account filed
May 2011Thunderstorm WindColumbus$2,000Emergency management reported a large tree down.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindColumbus$2,000Severe thunderstorm wind gusts downed one power pole.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindColumbus$1,000A large tree branch was blown down onto a power line.
January 2026Thunderstorm WindColumbus-A flag pole at the Courthouse was bent over by strong winds. A personal weather station 6 miles NNW of the Courthouse recorded a wind gust of 57 mph.
April 2026Flash FloodColumbus-Several reports of significant street flooding were reported.
April 2026HailColumbus-Quarter sized hail was reported.
April 2026HailColumbus-Hail to the size of ping pong balls, 40 mph winds and heavy rainfall were reported.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindColumbus-A large tree was reported down closing the road.
April 2026Flash FloodColumbus-Multiple roads in town were reported flooded and impassable.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindColumbus-Report of a 62mph measured wind gust in Cherokee County.
March 2023HailColumbus-Nickle sized hail was reported via social media.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindColumbus-A large limb was reported downed by high winds.
May 2022Flash FloodColumbus-Numerous streets around Columbus along with several other rural roads around the county were flooded.
June 2021Flash FloodColumbus-Several city roads were reported as flooded.
March 2020FloodColumbus-Multiple low water crossings in Columbus and eastern Cherokee County were flooded due to runoff from recent rainfall over the previous 6 to 12 hours.
May 2020HailColumbus-Ping pong ball sized hail was reported in a mainly rural area.
May 2019Heavy RainColumbus-The COOP observer measured a 24 hour rainfall total of 2.50 inches.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindColumbus-Numerous large tree limbs were reported down across town.
May 2019Heavy RainColumbus-The 24 hour rainfall accumulation measured by a Cooperative Observer was 3.97 inches. The rain began on April 30th.
July 2018HailColumbus-Nickle size hail was reported.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindColumbus-Several large tree limbs were blown down.
April 2017Flash FloodColumbus-Highway 7 was flooded at several locations north of Columbus. Numerous secondary roads were flooded throughout the county.
April 2017Flash FloodColumbus-Numerous low water crossings were flooded throughout Cherokee County.
September 2017Thunderstorm WindColumbus-There were small tree limbs blown down in Columbus.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindColumbus-Several tree limbs were blown down in Columbus.
October 2016Flash FloodColumbus-Numerous low water crossings were flooded west of Columbus.
October 2016Flash FloodColumbus-A quarter mile section of Northwest 30th Street had one foot of water flowing over the road.

Every storm recorded in Cherokee 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
Stippville3.7 miles20
Turck4.3 miles20
Skidmore4.9 miles20
Quaker5.2 miles20
Sherwin5.5 miles19
Neutral5.6 miles21
Mackie5.7 miles20
Cokedale5.9 miles19

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 ColumbusAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2232985The 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 469479. 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.