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Grainfield, Kansas

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Grainfield Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67737. The Survey maps it on the Grainfield quadrangle. 322 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,812 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Grainfield within Gove County

On record in Grainfield

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

Grainfield grew from 277 to 322 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
2010277
2020322+45 (+16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 7 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

3 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Grainfield between 2015 and 2020, burning about 45 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/undetermined2
Smoking1

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
18 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service6
16 March 2015Smoking45 acresKansas Forest Service4
4 November 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Servicenot named

Every fire recorded in Gove County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Grainfield: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Kleaver Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Storms near this place

60 of 63 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Grainfield in 63 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 40 hail, 15 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 flash flood. 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 1995HailGrainfield$2,500,000One and one-half inch hail also at Grainfield 1335 CST. The hail combined with winds damaged 60 farm structures and KANSAS, Northwestern Cont'd
May 2008Tornado (EF0)Grainfield$25,000This tornado developed 3 miles SW of Grainfield and moved north 11 miles into Sheridan county, dissipating 9 miles SW of Hoxie. This tornado remained over open fields.
September 2008Flash FloodGrainfield$20,000A series of thunderstorms moved across northern Gove county during the afternoon and evening hours. One cooperative observer recorded 6.61 inches of rain just west of Park by 1125 pm CDT , and an unofficial rainfall report of 10.60 inches was noted 3 miles east-southeast of Grainfield from a Gove county road department employee. Area roads were flooded and ditches were full of water. At least two people had to be rescued when their car went into a flooded ditch and stalled.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindGrainfield$15,000A semi-trailer was blown over on Interstate 70. Time of this report is estimated.
June 2017FloodGrainfield$10,000Intense, heavy rainfall caused many drivers to hydroplane and a semi with trailer to rollover at mile marker 91 on I-70, two miles west of Grainfield.
May 2025HailGrainfield-A storm chaser reported one inch hail along Interstate 70.
August 2025HailGrainfield-Photo showing a hailstone around 2 inches in diameter. Additional photos show the back window of a vehicle on I-70 near Grainfield was obliterated by the hail, and the front windshield of the same vehicle was smashed.
August 2025HailGrainfield-Wind-driven baseball-sized hail damaged vehicles along I-70, including the destruction of windshields. Report was relayed by broadcast media.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Based on nearby wind reports, Kansas Highway Patrol believes the semi was blown over.
April 2024HailGrainfield-Emergency management relays reports of hail up to the size of golf balls.
April 2024HailGrainfield-Storm chaser reports 2 inch hail.
April 2024HailGrainfield-Trained spotter reports 1 inch hail.
May 2024HailGrainfield-Accumulating dime to nickel sized hail observed at the location. Depth of the hail was unknown.
April 2024HailGrainfield-Quarter sized accumulated on the ground near Grainfield.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Spotter estimated 60-70 mph winds.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Estimated 50 to 60 mph wind gusts reported at the location.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Estimated 70 MPH wind gusts reported in Grainfield.
May 2017FloodGrainfield-The flood waters in Big Creek from west of Highway 23 continued east through the rest of the county, flooding county roads that crossed Big Creek. At 1:40 PM CST 8-10 inches of water 200-300 ft. across was reported over Castle Rock Road a quarter mile north of the CR W/Castle Rock intersection.
June 2017HailGrainfield-The hail is falling along I-70 near Grainfield.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-One inch diameter tree branches blown down.
May 2016HailGrainfield-The hail ranged from 1.25 to 2, increasing in size as it fell.
November 2015Tornado (EF1)Grainfield-A tornado was reported in Grainfield causing damage to numerous trees as it moved northeast. A wood structure at the Coop sustained unspecified damage. An abandoned house in town had the roof blown off it. A quonset was destroyed, but only minor damage was done to the implements inside. Power lines were brought down, windows and sheds were destroyed in town. The majority of the tornado path was to the northeast into Sheridan county. The tornado crossed into Sheridan county just east of the Gove 48 and Gove Ee intersection.
November 2015Tornado (EF0)Grainfield-A tornado was located southwest of Grainfield, moving to the northeast. It crossed I-70 roughly a mile and a half west of the Grainfield exit. No damage was reported with this tornado.
June 2014HailGrainfield-Report received from social media.
June 2014HailGrainfield-Delayed report with time estimated from Doppler radar.
June 2014HailGrainfield-Quarter-sized hail covered the ground.
May 2013HailGrainfield-Estimated the time of the report based on radar data.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Estimated the wind gusts at 50-60 MPH.
April 2010Flash FloodGrainfield-Water was reported over highway 40 at Grainfield. KDOT is preparing to close the highway. Parts of Highway 40 between Grinnell and Grainfield were reported flooded as well.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Tree limbs reported down in parts of town via newspaper account. Diameter of limbs unknown.
April 2005HailGrainfield-Hail covered the ground.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Wind damage. 3-inch tree branches down.
October 2000Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Old wooden bridge railing torn off by winds. In addition, shingles torn off barn and house, as well as a few utility poles leaning to one side.
July 1999Tornado (F0)Grainfield-Brief tornado spotted just outside of Grainfield.
July 1998HailGrainfield-Also, limbs down at rest stop.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-Limbs, 4 to 5 inches in diameter downed.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-no account filed
May 2023HailGrainfield-no account filed
May 2019HailGrainfield-no account filed
October 2017HailGrainfield-no account filed
June 2015HailGrainfield-no account filed
June 2014HailGrainfield-no account filed
June 2014HailGrainfield-no account filed
May 2008HailGrainfield-no account filed
May 2008HailGrainfield-no account filed
June 2006HailGrainfield-no account filed
June 2005HailGrainfield-no account filed
October 2005HailGrainfield-no account filed
May 2004HailGrainfield-no account filed
May 2004HailGrainfield-no account filed
September 2003HailGrainfield-no account filed
September 2003HailGrainfield-no account filed
August 2002HailGrainfield-no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-no account filed
July 2001HailGrainfield-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindGrainfield-no account filed
July 2000HailGrainfield-no account filed
July 2000HailGrainfield-no account filed
July 1999HailGrainfield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Gove 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
Park5.6 miles7
Grinnell8.7 miles7
Gove10.8 miles8
Quinter12.7 miles7
Alanthus32.6 miles8

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 GrainfieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1858989The 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 471345. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.