BlockBefore

Hesston, Kansas

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Emma Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67062. The Survey maps it on the Hesston quadrangle. 3,505 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,480 feet above sea level.

Hesston within Harvey County

Population over time

2 figures

Hesston fell from 3,709 to 3,505 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
20103,709
20203,505-204 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 15 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

47 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Hesston between 2015 and 2020, burning about 174 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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
Debris and open burning18
Missing data/not specified/undetermined14
Equipment and vehicle use7
Arson/incendiarism3
Recreation and ceremony2
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
5 September 2017Debris and open burning1.0 acresHarvey County17121
28 September 2015Arson/incendiarismunder an acreKansas Forest Service191
5 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
4 July 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
22 July 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreKansas Forest Service2104
25 June 2018Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresKansas Forest Service18394
17 June 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresKansas Forest Service18381
15 May 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreKansas Forest Service99

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Harvey County

Storms near this place

60 of 72 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hesston in 72 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 42 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 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
October 2007Thunderstorm WindHesston$100,000A 100 year old barn was destroyed. Major damage also occurred to the granary with minor damage to a tractor, a truck and gravity wagons stored inside the barn.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindHesston$50,000A stoplight at the intersection of Main and Old 81 was blown down. Tree damage across town was minimal. Nearly a mile-long stretch of utility poles was downed along Emma Creek Road west of Hesston.
August 2003LightningHesston$5,000Transformer struck. Narrative courtesy of Newton Kansan.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindHesston$4,000Power lines were blown down northwest of town.
August 2013FloodHesston$100There were numerous water covered roads, especially across the western half of the county.
April 2025HailHesston-Public report received via mPING.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindHesston-Half dollar sized hail was also reported.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindHesston-Estimated wind gusts around 60 mph. Branches smaller than the spotter's wrist were down in his yard.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindHesston-Emergency manager estimates wind gusts around 55 to 60 mph.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindHesston-Emergency management estimated wind gusts up to 60 mph.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindHesston-Delayed report, time estimated by radar. Uprooted tree in Hesston.
April 2022Tornado (EFU)Hesston-A brief touchdown occurred in open country.
November 2022Heavy RainHesston-A Coop observer reported 2.30 inches of rainfall.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindHesston-Multiple powerlines were down as well as several trees uprooted and knocked over. Many railroad crossbars had broken off at the crossing. The damage occurred from Hesston to Newton.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindHesston-Eight inch diameter tree limbs and a 40 foot tall tree were reported down. Street signs were blown over.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindHesston-Limbs 3 to 4 inches in diameter were downed.
July 2013FloodHesston-Roads were flooded across Hesston.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindHesston-Reported by trained spotter.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindHesston-The 60-mph winds were reported by KAKE TV Channel 10, however no damage was reported.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindHesston-Downed 3-inch diameter limbs.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindHesston-Estimated gust reported by a trained spotter.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindHesston-Several power lines and a few transformers were blown down and power was out in Hesston.
March 2009Tornado (EF0)Hesston-A brief tornado touchdown occured in open country.
July 2009HailHesston-Winds gusted to 50 mph, and 1.36 inches of rain fell in 20 minutes.
July 2009HailHesston-The hail was nickel to quarter size and lasted for ten minutes.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindHesston-Reported by a KSNW WeatherLab. A semi truck was blown off the road.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindHesston-4-5 Inch diameter limbs downed.
June 2002Flash FloodHesston-Dutch Avenue flooded.
May 2025HailHesston-no account filed
April 2025HailHesston-no account filed
April 2025HailHesston-no account filed
July 2025HailHesston-no account filed
May 2022HailHesston-no account filed
July 2022HailHesston-no account filed
July 2022HailHesston-no account filed
May 2016HailHesston-no account filed
April 2015HailHesston-no account filed
April 2015HailHesston-no account filed
May 2014HailHesston-no account filed
May 2010HailHesston-no account filed
July 2009HailHesston-no account filed
August 2007HailHesston-no account filed
August 2007HailHesston-no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindHesston-no account filed
May 2007HailHesston-no account filed
May 2005HailHesston-no account filed
May 2005HailHesston-no account filed
June 2005HailHesston-no account filed
June 2005HailHesston-no account filed
June 2005HailHesston-no account filed
April 2004HailHesston-no account filed
July 2004HailHesston-no account filed
May 2003HailHesston-no account filed
May 2003HailHesston-no account filed
May 2003HailHesston-no account filed
May 2003HailHesston-no account filed
April 2002HailHesston-no account filed
June 2002HailHesston-no account filed
June 2002HailHesston-no account filed
October 2002Thunderstorm WindHesston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Harvey 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
Zimmerdale3.3 miles18
North Newton6.4 miles16
Newton7.8 miles16
Sand Creek7.9 miles16
Alta Mills8.6 miles15
McGraw9.3 miles16
Walton9.4 miles16
Van Arsdale9.6 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 HesstonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1903762The 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 477759. 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.