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Galva, Kansas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Empire Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67443. The Survey maps it on the Galva quadrangle. 834 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,545 feet above sea level.

Galva within McPherson County

Population over time

2 figures

Galva fell from 870 to 834 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
2010870
2020834-36 (-4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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

54 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 54 fires within 5 miles of Galva between 2003 and 2020, burning about 2,188 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 9 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/undetermined16
Debris and open burning15
Arson/incendiarism9
Equipment and vehicle use9
Natural2
Smoking2
Recreation and ceremony1

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
24 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service828
2 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined35 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
13 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMcPherson Countynot named
29 August 2003Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMcPherson Countynot named
12 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMcPherson County17-0085
7 July 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMcPherson County17-0076
6 July 2003Arson/incendiarism35 acresMcPherson Countynot named
3 July 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McPherson County

Storms near this place

48 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Galva in 48 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 21 thunderstorm wind, 20 hail, 3 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 2014Thunderstorm WindGalva$1,000,000Extensive damage from wind driven hail occurred in and around the town of Galva, Kansas. The winds were estimated to be between 65 and 75 mph causing damage to numerous houses and downing tress across town. Tree limbs eight inches in diameter were knocked down. An RV storage unit had it's roof taken off from the damaging winds. Homes received damage to siding from wind driven half dollar sized hail. The roof of the school had damage as well.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindGalva$500,000Damaging wind gusts estimated at 75 mph derailed a train, with 33 rail cars knocked off the tracks. Two drivers were aboard the train, but were unharmed. The rail cars contained grain products, and other household goods. Cleanup took over a week to complete.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindGalva$25,000Storage shed, 8 by 12 feet, dislodged from foundation.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindGalva$15,000The combination of heavy rain and high winds aided in a two-vehicle fatal automobile accident on Highway 56 east of McPherson. There was one fatality and one injury associated with the accident. The McPherson Sentinel contributed to this report.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindGalva$1,000Seventy to 80 mph wind gusts were reported along with large tree limbs down.
April 2026HailGalva-Report received via mPing.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindGalva-A personal weather station measured 59 mph.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindGalva-A trained spotter reported large trees uprooted along with some structural damage. Some debris was strewn about in a field.
August 2023Heavy RainGalva-Rainfall in the past 24hours of 3.20 inches.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindGalva-The public reported the gust.
May 2021Heavy RainGalva-This was a 24 hour rainfall report of 3.25 inches at Cocorahs station KS-MP-55 McPherson 6.6 ENE.
May 2021Heavy RainGalva-This was a 24 hour rainfall report of 3.13 inches at Cocorahs station KS-MP-65 Galva 0.2 ESE.
May 2021FloodGalva-County dispatch reported minor flooding with some roads covered in water.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindGalva-A trained spotter reported frequent gusts of 58 to 65 mph were occurring.
September 2019HailGalva-This was a delayed report via MPing. The time of the event was estimated from radar.
June 2015FloodGalva-Nuisance flooding was noted at many low water crossings in the eastern half of the county.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindGalva-Nickel size hail was also reported along the thunderstorm wind gusts.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindGalva-A personal weather station measured the gust.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindGalva-A personal weather station measured the gust.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindGalva-A trained spotter reported the wind gusts.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindGalva-Estimated gust reported by a trained spotter.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindGalva-Widespread tree damage and a few downed powerlines were noted as the storms moved through.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Galva-Tornado briefly touched down in an open field.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindGalva-Report courtesy of KSAL radio.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindGalva-A trained spotter reported the wind gust.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindGalva-Branches 3-5 inches in diameter downed.
May 2018HailGalva-no account filed
May 2016HailGalva-no account filed
August 2015HailGalva-no account filed
June 2014HailGalva-no account filed
February 2012HailGalva-no account filed
August 2011HailGalva-no account filed
August 2011HailGalva-no account filed
July 2009HailGalva-no account filed
July 2009HailGalva-no account filed
July 2009HailGalva-no account filed
May 2006HailGalva-no account filed
May 2005HailGalva-no account filed
June 2004HailGalva-no account filed
June 2004HailGalva-no account filed
May 2003HailGalva-no account filed
August 2003HailGalva-no account filed
May 2002HailGalva-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindGalva-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindGalva-no account filed
June 2002HailGalva-no account filed
May 1998Tornado (F0)Galva-no account filed
May 1997Thunderstorm WindGalva-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McPherson 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
Canton5.8 miles15
New Gottland6.1 miles16
McPherson6.8 miles16
Elyria7.9 miles16
Hilton8.4 miles16
Johnstown10.6 miles16
Groveland11.9 miles16
Moundridge12.4 miles15

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 GalvaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1857705The 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 477203. 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.