BlockBefore

Dorrance, Kansas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Plymouth Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67634. The Survey maps it on the Dorrance quadrangle. 146 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,729 feet above sea level.

Dorrance within Russell County

On record in Dorrance

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Dorrance fell from 185 to 146 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
2010185
2020146-39 (-21%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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

5 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Dorrance between 2012 and 2018, burning about 29,924 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/undetermined4
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
20 August 2017Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresRussell County17036
27 June 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,920 acresKansas CountiesDORRANCE
6 March 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined28,000 acresRussell County17010
15 December 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Service18059
21 January 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresRussell County201704

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Russell County

Storms near this place

58 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dorrance in 58 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 34 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 7 injuries. 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 1993Tornado (F4)Dorrance1 killed, 6 hurt, $5,000,000At approximately 1705 CST a half mile wide tornado touched down 1.5 miles southwest of the MINOOKA PARK area on the south shore of Wilson Lake. The tornado ravaged Ken's Marina and the MINOOKA PARK area around 1710 CST by destroying the marina building, numerous boats, motors, and trailers plus campers, motor homes, vehicles, and buildings at MINOOKA PARK. As the tornado passed through, flying debris killed a 79 year old female and injured two other people. By 1720 CST the tornado crossed Highway 223, one mile east and 3 miles south of Lucas where four homes and a power sub- station were severely damaged. The other four injuries were sustained by the occupants of these homes. By 1725 CST the tornado passed 1.5 miles east of Lucas where three more homes received moderate damage. About 1745 CST the tornado crossed into southeast Osborne County destroying one farmstead before dissipating about 1755 CST. (F79O)
August 2006Thunderstorm WindDorrance1 hurt, $40,000Tractor trailer was blown off of the highway.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindDorrance$10,000A metal shed roof was blown off, and a garage was destroyed.
May 2011Tornado (EF0)Dorrance$5,000The tornado was on the ground in open country, causing minor damage to a shed and some trees.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindDorrance$1,000Tree limb blown through a window.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindDorrance$200Some tree limbs were downed.
September 2010Flash FloodDorrance$100Most of the creeks across the extreme southeast portion of the county came out of their banks.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindDorrance$100Some tree limbs were downed.
June 2022Tornado (EFU)Dorrance-Brief touchdown in open country.
June 2022Heavy RainDorrance-A cocorahs observer 3 miles east southeast of Dorrance reported 2.44 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
May 2020Flash FloodDorrance-US Highway 40 was closed for a few miles west of Wilson due to water flowing over the road.
June 2019HailDorrance-Picture sent through Twitter to KWCH TV.
August 2019FloodDorrance-Various country roads were flooded across Southeast Russell County. The roads typically flood during heavy rain.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindDorrance-The speeds ranged from 55 to 70 mph. Quarter-sized hail was also reported. No damage was reported.
August 2019FloodDorrance-Reports of flooding were received on 203rd Street.
August 2019HailDorrance-Winds from 55 TO 70 mph were also reported.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindDorrance-Winds of 60 to 70 mph were estimated on I-70 near mile-marker 204.
May 2007Tornado (EF0)Dorrance-Weak tornado that produced no damage.
May 2002Tornado (F0)Dorrance-Brief touchdown.
March 2025HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2024HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2020HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2018HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2008HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindDorrance-no account filed
May 2008HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2008HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2008HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2008HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2008HailDorrance-no account filed
February 2007Thunderstorm WindDorrance-no account filed
May 2007HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2006HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindDorrance-no account filed
August 2006HailDorrance-no account filed
April 2005HailDorrance-no account filed
April 2005HailDorrance-no account filed
March 2004HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2004HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2004HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2004HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2004HailDorrance-no account filed
May 2002HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2002HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2002HailDorrance-no account filed
June 2002HailDorrance-no account filed
April 2001HailDorrance-no account filed
April 2001HailDorrance-no account filed
October 2000HailDorrance-no account filed
October 2000HailDorrance-no account filed
May 1999HailDorrance-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindDorrance-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindDorrance-no account filed
July 1999HailDorrance-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindDorrance-no account filed
May 1998HailDorrance-no account filed
May 1998HailDorrance-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindDorrance-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Russell 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
Bunker Hill6.4 miles13
Homer11.1 miles14
Russell14.7 miles13
Lucas14.7 miles13
Balta17.5 miles13
Luray19.0 miles13
Milberger19.5 miles13
Waldo21.8 miles13

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 DorranceAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2369821The 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 475332. 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.