Howard, Kansas
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Howard Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67349. It stands on Snake Creek. The Survey maps it on the Howard quadrangle. 570 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,037 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Howard
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
- Elk County Courthouselisted 2009
- Howard National Banklisted 2020
Population over time
2 figuresHoward fell from 687 to 570 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 687 | |
| 2020 | 570 | -117 (-17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1885 USGS Sedan quadrangle1:125000
- 1889 USGS Sedan quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Wichita quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Wichita quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Howard quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Sedan quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
31 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 31 fires within 5 miles of Howard between 1998 and 2020, burning about 3,981 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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 burning | 13 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 September 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 110 acres | Elk County | 17078 |
| 2 July 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1500074 |
| 17 May 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 1869 |
| 4 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1832 |
| 4 April 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 80 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1500054 |
| 30 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1865 |
| 28 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 500 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1861 |
| 18 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 350 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1850 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 110 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howard in 110 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 52 hail, 32 thunderstorm wind, 11 heavy rain, 6 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Howard | $27,000,000 | Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Elk County. The flooding damaged or destroyed around 400 houses. This led 12 to 42 million dollars in damage. An awesome 21.49 inches of rain fell during the month of June. Much of this fell during the last few days of the month. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $50,000 | Numerous trees were knocked down across town. |
| June 2001 | Lightning | Howard | $50,000 | The northwest roof of Elk County Courthouse was struck, inflicting damage to the roof tile, the elevator, and several computers. A second lightning strike set fire to a hay barn. The barn was a total loss. |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $35,000 | A pole barn with dimensions of 40 feet by 60 feet was completely destroyed. Additionally, some minor shed and house damage occurred. Ten inch tree limbs were blown down as well. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $27,000 | High winds knocked out power to Howard. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $12,000 | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $3,000 | Estimated 70 mph winds damaged a fence and a sheet metal shed. |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $2,250 | Estimated 70 mph winds damaged a tree and damaged a barn roof. |
| May 1993 | Hail | Howard | $500 | A thunderstorm dropped three-quarter inch hail around Howard. |
| May 1993 | Hail | Howard | $500 | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $100 | Winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph downed some small tree limbs as well as damaged a screen door. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Howard | $100 | Heavy rainfall produced 4.30 inches of rain with agriculture flooding and some minor road flooding. |
| April 1994 | Hail | Howard | $50 | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Several trees and large tree limbs were reported down corroborated from two different CO-OP observers that there was widespread tree damage across Howard. Time was estimated from radar. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | The KSU mesonet measured a 62 mph wind gust. |
| May 2024 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | Twenty four hour rainfall from CoCoRaHS observer of 2.05 inches. Street flooding occurred in town during the late evening hours of the 6th. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Howard | - | Trained spotters relayed report to emergency management of quarter sized hail at Kansas Highway 99 and Rock Road. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | This was a measured wind gust from a Kansas Mesonet site northwest of Howard. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | There was a picture on social media of at least a 1-foot diameter tree branch snapped. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Howard | - | There were pictures on social media of golf ball sized hail near Howard. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Howard | - | There was a picture of at least 2-inch hail on the outskirts of Howard. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | This was an estimated wind gusts. This was corroborated by other similar reports. |
| May 2022 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | A Cocorahs station in Howard, Kansas, reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 3.85 inches. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | A Cocorahs observer near Howard reported 4.93 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | A Coop observer reported 5.60 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | A Cocorahs observer near Howard reported 4.93 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | A Coop observer in Howard reported 2.63 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. |
| October 2021 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | This is a 24 hour rainfall report of 3.67 inches about 1 mile SSE of Howard. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | This was an estimated wind gust. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Howard | - | The quarter sized hail lasted for a few minutes. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Howard | - | Report came in via Facebook. |
| June 2019 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | This is a 24 hour total. |
| June 2019 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | This is a 24 hour total. |
| June 2019 | Flash Flood | Howard | - | A deputy reported that the main road heading west out of Howard was covered with swiftly flowing water in multiple places which made them impassable. |
| May 2014 | Funnel Cloud | Howard | - | The funnel cloud went half way to the ground, but did not last very long. A distinct wall cloud was also noted. |
| May 2014 | Funnel Cloud | Howard | - | A trained spotter reported the funnel cloud about halfway to the ground. |
| August 2013 | Flood | Howard | - | Several streets in downtown Howard are under a small amount of water. The ditches along the roads are full and spilling over. |
| April 2013 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | Observer in Howard measured 2.15 inches in the past 24 hours. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Estimated gust reported by a trained spotter. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Howard | - | Law Enforcement also reported 70 mph wind gusts. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Estimated gust reported by a Law Enforcement officer. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Howard | - | Winds up to 60 mph were also reported. |
| March 2010 | Hail | Howard | - | Pea to nickel sized hail covered the ground. |
| July 2010 | Heavy Rain | Howard | - | The Elk county dispatch center measured 4.7 inches since midnight. |
| August 2008 | Flood | Howard | - | Numerous roads in the town of Howard were flooded. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Howard | - | Widespread 14 to 17 inch rainfall amounts occurred across Elk County from June 27th through July 1st, producing widespread, significant flooding. Please refer to this event in the July 2007 StormData publication for complete details. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Howard | - | Numerous thunderstorms moved across Elk County during the predawn hours of June 1st, dumping widespread 3 to 4 inch rainfall amounts across primarily the northwest half of the county. Several roads were flooded and impassable northwest of Howard. |
| June 2005 | Flash Flood | Howard | - | Several county roads flooded. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | AGTAP EK104. |
| April 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Limbs downed. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Trees uprooted. |
| March 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Limbs downed. |
| May 2002 | Flash Flood | Howard | - | Highway 99 flooded one mile south of the Greenwood/Elk county line. |
| September 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Unspecified farm equipment moved slightly. Velocities estimated between 61 and 70 kts. Time of occurrence estimated. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Branches 5-6 inches in diameter downed. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Tree blown down. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Flood | Howard | - | no account filed |
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.
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 Howard | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2232935 | The 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 469959. 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.





