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Hill City, Kansas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Hill City Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67642. It stands on Brush Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hill City South quadrangle. 1,403 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,185 feet above sea level.

Hill City within Graham County

Population over time

2 figures

Hill City fell from 1,474 to 1,403 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
20101,474
20201,403-71 (-5%)

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

4 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Hill City between 1993 and 2017, burning about 2,089 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/undetermined3
Fireworks1

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
15 March 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined483 acresKansas Forest Service015-005
19 February 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresKansas Forest Service016-002
2 December 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,600 acresGraham Countynot named
1 January 2017Fireworks3.0 acresGraham County170001

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Graham 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 Hill City: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Hocker QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Graham County

Storms near this place

60 of 193 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hill City in 193 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 108 hail, 65 thunderstorm wind, 10 tornado, 7 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
June 2018Flash FloodHill City$500,000The flood waters moved into Hill City from the north, overwhelming the drainage tunnels under the town. Water was deep enough in town to move into businesses. |Residents in the trailer park on the south side of town had to evacuate. Two different families had to be water rescued due to their resistance to leave despite flood waters surrounding their home in both instances. One trailer house was carried away by the flood waters. A house in town, located near where the drainage tunnels empty, was engulfed with flood waters. The city park and playground equipment, where the drainage for town empties, was almost completely submerged in water. Over six inches of rainfall was measured in town.
May 2018Flash FloodHill City$100,000Flood waters were so deep water rescues had to be performed at a trailer park south of the river next to Highway 283 from 5:30 PM CDT to 11 PM CDT. Highway 283 was closed from Hill City to Wakeeney due to flood waters over the Highway on the south side of Hill City near the trailer park. The flooding extended thee miles south-southwest from town along the creek channel.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindHill City$35,000The roof was blown off the power plant for Hill City, causing the town to lose power. A shed was blown off its foundation and landed on a car. Numerous tree limbs were broken off. Damage was primarily confined to the southeast portion of town.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindHill City$30,700Law enforcement reported numerous live tree limbs and power lines down causing power outages. Four tank batteries for oil were blown over and an additional oil battery south of Hill City caught on fire. A power pole was also knocked down. The Hill City ASOS observed a 93 mph wind gust at the time the damage occurred.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindHill City$10,000An irrigation pivot was overturned by strong thunderstorm outflow winds.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindHill City$4,000Multiple larges trees were reported down by local law enforcement.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindHill City$2,000An electric pole was broken at the intersection of CR N and Highway 283.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindHill City$2,000Winds estimated to gust up to 80 mph threw lawn furniture and tore a healthy six inch diameter tree limb off a tree.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindHill City$2,000A very large tree limb was blown down in town. On the northeast side of town a 25' tall tree was blown over and is blocking the road.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindHill City$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees and numerous large branches measuring 12-16 inches in diameter. A trampoline was lofted by strong winds and was suspended in power lines.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindHill City$2,000Door blown off a business and a stoplight damaged.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindHill City$500Winds estimated to gust up to 60 mph tore a one inch diameter healthy tree limb from a tree.
July 2022LightningHill City$500Lightning struck a healthy tree, snapping a branch about four inches in diameter off the tree.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindHill City$500A large tree branch with an estimated diameter of 6 to 8 inches was blown down on the west side of Hill City near the high school.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindHill City-Site KHLC reported 58 to 60 mph wind gusts.
May 2024HailHill City-Pea to penny sized hail reported in Hill City.
May 2024HailHill City-Public report of pea to 0.75 inch hail.
May 2024HailHill City-Public report of pea to 0.75 inch hail.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindHill City-Trained spotter reported estimated 60 MPH wind gusts.
July 2024HailHill City-Local emergency manager reported 1 inch diameter hail.
June 2023HailHill City-Spotter reported quarter size hail and estimated wind gusts up to 80 mph.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindHill City-Spotter reported quarter size hail and estimated wind gusts up to 80 mph.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindHill City-These wind speeds were estimated from a spotter in town who heard a roaring sound with the wind. During this time the ASOS at the airport measured a peak gust of 72 MPH.
April 2022HailHill City-Penny to quarter sized hail reported with accumulation on roads and in ditches. Zero visibility was also reported due to heavy rain and hail.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindHill City-Straight-line winds blew a few shingles off a roof in Hill City.
June 2022Tornado (EFU)Hill City-Spotter reported a brief tornado roughly 3 miles east of Highway 283 and 9 miles north of Wakeeney in extreme southern Graham County. Tornado had a half condensed bowl with dirt and debris spinning below. Time and location estimated by radar.
September 2021HailHill City-Pea to nickel sized hail observed as storm moved over the location.
September 2021HailHill City-Up to penny sized hail reported.
September 2021HailHill City-Report received of pea to nickel sized hail at location.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindHill City-A member of the public reported via social media a 63 mph wind gust recorded via a personal weather station as storms moved across the area.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindHill City-Mesonet station KKSHILLC10 recorded a 62 mph wind gust.
August 2019Flash FloodHill City-Local law enforcement reported significant street flooding in downtown Hill City with several roads impassable due to flash flooding from heavy rains.
August 2019Flash FloodHill City-Dispatch reported that the area around the intersection of US Highways 24 and 283 was flooded.
May 2018FloodHill City-Photos from the day after the heavy rainfall occurred showed flood waters still in place at the trailer park and adjacent locations.
May 2018HailHill City-Measured a hail stone 2.25 in diameter.
May 2018Tornado (EF0)Hill City-Tornadic rotation on radar indicates the tornado tracked northeast, east of Highway 283. No damage was reported with this tornado. Estimated the end time of the tornado when the tornadic rotation ended.
May 2018FloodHill City-A foot of water was reported six miles south of Hill City near Highway 283. The rain was falling so hard at times that visibility was reduced to near zero.
October 2017HailHill City-The average size hailstone was golf ball, with hail covering the ground.
September 2016HailHill City-A plethora of quarter to golf ball size hail fell.
April 2014HailHill City-Most hail was nickel sized.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindHill City-Broken tree limbs and large trees are down. No exact size on the trees that were blown down, but they need to be removed with heavy equipment. A lot of debris has been blown around as well.
April 2012HailHill City-Spotter also reported heavy rainfall and visibility down to 1/8 mile in the heavy rain.
June 2012HailHill City-Estimated 40 to 50 MPH wind gusts.
July 2009HailHill City-Dime to quarter sized hail covered the ground.
April 2008HailHill City-Hail report relayed by kwch.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindHill City-Hill City ASOS measured a peak wind of 83 mph with severe gusts continuing until midnight. Law enforcement reported trees and power lines, some major, were blown down around town. Large dumpsters were also blown around. Many residents were without power.
September 2007Flash FloodHill City-Rainfall totaling 1.46 inches fell in 45 minutes with water flowing across roads on the east side of town.
June 2007HailHill City-Relayed via NSSL SHAVE project. Numerous reports of 0.88-1.25 inch hail reports along path.
June 2007HailHill City-This report was relayed via the NSSL SHAVE project.
May 2007Tornado (EF0)Hill City-No known damage...over open fields.
May 2007Flash FloodHill City-Graham county Emergency Management reported several county roads flooded in the southern portion of the county.
May 2007Tornado (EF0)Hill City-No known damage...over open fields.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindHill City-A dead tree 20 ft high was blown over.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindHill City-Newspaper account shows large (10" diameter) tree limb downed across S 3rd Avenue in Hill City as a result of strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2006Flash FloodHill City-Six to eight inches of water flowing across Road 280. 3.20 inches of precipitation measured in rain gauge. Other area rainfall amounts included 4.76 inches of rain 8 NE of Hill City at 1847 MST and 4.00 inches of rain at 1850 MST by a trained weather spotter 1 E of Hill City. Heavy rain also fell in Gove county 6 west of Grinnell with 3.25 inches reported at 1845 MST.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindHill City-Tree branch down.
May 2005HailHill City-Hail covered the ground.
June 2005HailHill City-Three-quarter to 1 inch diameter hail covered the ground.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindHill City-Hill City ASOS report.
June 2005Tornado (F0)Hill City-Brief touchdown over open fields near Road 320 and Road O. No known damage.

Every storm recorded in Graham 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
Penokee7.0 miles13
Smithfield8.1 miles13
Bogue8.2 miles13
Roscoe8.9 miles13
Nicodemus12.1 miles13
Morland12.4 miles7
Togo12.6 miles13
Saint Peter17.8 miles7

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 Hill CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q281317The 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 472209. 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.