Norton, Kansas
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Center-District 1 Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67654. It stands on Robinson Creek. The Survey maps it on the Norton quadrangle. 2,747 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,313 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Norton
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
Norton Downtown Historic Districtlisted 2011- West Sappa Creek Latticelisted 1990
Population over time
2 figuresNorton fell from 2,928 to 2,747 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 | 2,928 | |
| 2020 | 2,747 | -181 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 16 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.
- 1893 USGS Norton quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1951 USGS Norton quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Beloit quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Beloit quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1978 USGS Norton quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Norton quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
12 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Norton between 2015 and 2020, burning about 2,146 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/undetermined | 5 |
| Other causes | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Norton County | 1700022 |
| 5 July 2015 | Other causes | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 14 |
| 24 July 2015 | Other causes | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 15 |
| 1 July 2015 | Fireworks | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 9 |
| 31 May 2015 | Other causes | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 9 |
| 19 May 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 8 |
| 4 March 2017 | Debris and open burning | 33 acres | Norton County | 1700006 |
| 4 March 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Norton County | 1700007 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 185 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Norton in 185 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 106 hail, 66 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 3 flash flood. The reports record 3 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | 3 hurt | Blowing dirt reduced visibility causing a three-car accident on highway 36 resulting in three injuries. |
| June 1999 | Tornado (F3) | Norton | $1,000,000 | A large tornado dropped down just east of the town of Norton and stayed on the ground for approximately 10 miles before finally lifting north-northeast of the town of Almena. This Tornado reached around 3/4 of a mile wide at times and did major (F3) damage to a few farmsteads. Tornado also went through a stage with multiple vortices. |
| May 2008 | Flash Flood | Norton | $500,000 | Street flooding with water up to 1 foot deep was reported in the city of Norton via the National Spotter Network. Radar also indicated extremely heavy rainfall occurring across much of central Norton county at this time. Local newspapers later stated that Norton county roads incurred an estimated $500,000 in damage as a result of the heavy rainfall and flooding in the area. |
| September 2008 | Hail | Norton | $100,000 | Heavy damage to camper, shingles on garage and windows in RV and pickup. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $100,000 | Thunderstorm produced around 70 MPH Wind Gusts and Golfball size Hail as it moved across Norton County. Many crops were damaged, and some windows were broken in the town of Norton. |
| November 2015 | Tornado (EF1) | Norton | $83,000 | The tornado tracked to the north-northeast. Twelve electrical poles were taken down on the south side of Highway 36 just west of the prison. The tornado also disabled KQNK radio station's ability to broadcast, and a flagpole was bent in half. A trailer house and outbuildings were also damaged. |
| September 1993 | Hail | Norton | $50,000 | Golfball sized hail broke windshields, vehicle headlights and damaged roofs resulting in $12,000 loss. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $30,000 | Wind gusts of 60 MPH increased in intensity. Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a cabin. Power is also lost at the location. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $25,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 75 mph blew out the display sign at the Sonic Restaurant in Norton. The sign was approximately 15 ft wide by 20 ft across and was laying across all lanes of Highway 36. Smaller parts to the sign were scattered across the highway. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $15,000 | An intense thunderstorm moved southeast out of Red Willow county Nebraska during the night, producing damaging winds in and just north of Norton. A trampoline was lofted over a house, and just north of the airport a tank was rolled across the highway. A grain auger was also damaged. |
| May 2007 | Lightning | Norton | $15,000 | Lightning apparently struck a TV antenna and traveled through the electrical system of a home and ignited the wall insulation in the basement. It took four fire trucks and 13 fire fighters to contain the fire in one hour. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down fences, uprooted trees and broke a storefront window in the town of Norton. Time of event estimated from other storm reports and Doppler radar. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $5,000 | Strong thunderstorm winds blew over a windmill, and removed shingles from a home. Several utility poles in the immediate area were blown down. Two large shop doors were blown off a building which landed on a car. A 5x10 foot flatbed trailer was blown across railroad tracks. Large tree branches also reported down. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $4,000 | Thunderstorm wind damage was reported in Norton with several small tree limbs down as well as patio furniture and trash cans moved into the street. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $1,000 | A large shed with a roof had its doors open, allowing the wind to come into the building, causing the roof to be pushed away from the wall a foot or so. The wind gust also broke some 2x4s in the shed's structure. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $1,000 | Wind gusts estimated at 70 mph hit Norton , damaging trees and the Downtown Sander Furniture store awning. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $1,000 | House roof damaged. Debris from roof broke windows in nearby building. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Norton | $500 | Golf ball-size hail broke windows. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $300 | Strong thunderstorm wind gusts broke off several 8-10 ft long branches with diameters of 0.75 to 1 inch. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $200 | Thunderstorm winds knocked down a 10-inch diameter by 30 foot long tree branch. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | $50 | Three-inch-diameter branches were downed by 60 to 70 mph winds. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | WL-Norton 6.5 south-southeast mesonet report. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | A mesonet southwest of Norton recorded a gust of 59 mph due to a thunderstorm moving over. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Norton | - | Multiple reports of hail ranging from nickel to half dollar in size in the town of Norton. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Estimated 60 mph winds were reported at the Norton county Landfill. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Social media report with videos of estimated 60 to 65 mph winds at the Norton landfill. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Norton | - | A trained spotter reported pea to penny size hail in the town of Norton. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | Report of 1 to 1.5 inch hail two miles south of Norton, KS. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | Report of 1 inch hail. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Facebook report indicating that a semi with a load of cows was blown over on Highway 283, just south of County Road Q. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Healthy 20 foot cedar tree uprooted. Numerous 3-6 inch diameter tree branches broken off of maple trees. Soffit blown out of the west side of the house and tin torn off roof of farm buildings. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | There are 12 transmission power line structures leveled between County Roads R and S along Highway 283. The crew replacing them said most had been pulled out of the ground. They are approximately 18-24 inch poles 9 feet in the ground. |
| October 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | Hail ranging from two to three inches in size fell at the Keith Sebelius Reservoir. |
| October 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Trained spotter estimated 65 mph gusts with the storm. |
| October 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | Two inch hail reported on the west side of Norton. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | The personal weather station kksnorto2 south of Norton recorded a 74 mph wind gust. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | MPing report of 1.75 inch hail. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | Storm chaser reported hail between ping pong ball and tennis ball sizes. |
| August 2023 | Flash Flood | Norton | - | The torrential rainfall, which added up to over two inches of rainfall, caused water to flow into a resident's basement and a business downtown. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | Video showing dime to quarter size hail falling in Norton. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Norton | - | Spotter report of 1 to 1.25 inch hail. |
| July 2023 | Flood | Norton | - | Report via MPing. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Norton | - | Report received via social media of an estimated quarter sized hail at location. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Norton | - | A linear cluster of storms moved across Norton County producing penny sized hail south of the city of Norton for a duration of fifteen minutes. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | A linear cluster moved across Norton County producing a 72 mph wind gust south of the city of Norton. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Norton | - | Trained spotter reported ongoing half dollar sized hail that had been falling for approximately 15 minutes duration. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Mesonet station reported a 61 mph wind gust at location. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Norton | - | Multiple callers reported a brief hail shower less than one minute in duration from 3/8 inch to 1 inch in size. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | The Norton AWOS recorded a wind gust to 89 mph. Norton County Dispatch reported numerous trees down across the town of Norton. Pictures from the local park showed some minor damage due to falling trees. |
| May 2019 | Hail | Norton | - | Hail was quarter to golf ball size covering the ground 5 minutes after the hail started. |
| March 2018 | Hail | Norton | - | The hail ranged from nickel to golf ball in size, with quite a bit of ping-pong to golf ball size hail occurring. Screens and cars were damaged from the hail. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Estimated wind gusts of 65-70 MPH occurred with quarter size hail. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Norton | - | Estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 65-70 MPH also occurred with the hail. |
| April 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Spotter estimated 55 to 60 mph winds at Highway 283 and Road Q about five miles south of Norton. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Norton | - | Nickel-size hail was reported at Norton Dam. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | Spotter estimated peak wind gusts near 60 mph. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | A 4-inch diameter live tree branch was blown down. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norton | - | KSN Weather Lab school mesonet site. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Norton | - | Power outages were also reported. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Norton | - | Spotter also reported heavy rain and wind gusts to around 50 mph. |
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 Norton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1916422 | 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 471901. 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.





