BlockBefore

Plains, Kansas

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in West Plains Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67869. The Survey maps it on the Plains quadrangle. 1,037 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,759 feet above sea level.

Plains within Meade County

Population over time

2 figures

Plains fell from 1,146 to 1,037 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
20101,146
20201,037-109 (-10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 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

7 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Plains between 2015 and 2020, burning about 11 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined4
Debris and open burning1
Natural1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
9 July 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Service00PFD20
15 July 2018Natural1.0 acresKansas Forest Service18035
28 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service18021
17 April 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
2 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Servicenot named
11 February 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMeade County17007
14 November 2019Equipment and vehicle use8.0 acresKansas Forest Service1801006

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Meade County

Storms near this place

60 of 112 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Plains in 112 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 75 hail, 27 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 4 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
April 1994Tornado (F2)Plains$5,000,000The tornado entered Meade County from Seward County at 1545 CST 4 SW of Plains and moved ENE at 35 miles an hour striking the southern part of the town of Meade at around 1600 CST. It ended one mile SE of Meade after doing extensive damage to Meade High School, power lines, and several agri-based businesses in southern Meade Township. Damage estimates were around $1.3 million.
May 2015Tornado (EF1)Plains$750,000This tornado moved in from Seward County. It appeared to be much stronger and wider, visually. But the cloud bases were extremely low. The tornado turned north and then northwest as is dissipated, based on the survey. Many persons did not see the tornado due to nearby stratus and fog.
May 2003Tornado (F1)Plains$300,000This tornado took out numerous trees, pivot sprinklers and blew out windows in one structure.
September 1993HailPlains$50,000no account filed
September 1994Thunderstorm WindPlains$25,000The public reported numerous power poles blown down.
July 1994HailPlains$5,000no account filed
August 2025Thunderstorm WindPlains-The Emergency Manager reported several utility poles down near county road G and county road 4. Delayed report.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindPlains-A public weather station recorded a wind gust of 64 mph.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPlains-Publick report of overturned irrigation pivot.
October 2018Heavy RainPlains-Rainfall for the period was 3.75 inches.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindPlains-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
November 2015Tornado (EF2)Plains-This extremely wide tornado moving at 50 MPH moved out of Seward county at 18:06. It passed across almost the same identical area that the May 24th tornado took. This tornado heavily damaged trees, a home, pivot irrigation sprinklers and outbuildings. It moved into Gray county at 18:34.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindPlains-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
June 2014Flash FloodPlains-Several city streets were completely under water.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindPlains-A barn was completely destroyed with the debris blown 1/4 of a mile into a field. Several semi trailers were also blown of a road.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindPlains-Cattle trucks blown over on the road.
October 2005Thunderstorm WindPlains-A four inch diameter tree limb was blown down by the high wind.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindPlains-Also had golf ball sized hail
May 2003Thunderstorm WindPlains-Power poles were blown down.
May 2003Flash FloodPlains-High water closed Highway 54 between Kismet and Plains. Railroad ties were washed out and the tracks ended up closed for repairs for over 48 hours. Rainfall in the area ranged from 8 to 10 inches but unofficial bucket surveys indicated up to 17 inches fell on the area. Damage to the surrounding countryside would support rainfall in excess of 12 inches.
May 2003Flash FloodPlains-Extensive flooding was reported in Plains and along highway 54. Many basements were flooded.
May 2003Heavy RainPlains-5.00 inches of rain was reported.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindPlains-Trees damaged.
June 1995HailPlains-Water over the road.
June 1995HailPlains-Water over the road.
June 1995HailPlains-Water over the road.
June 1995HailPlains-Water over the road.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPlains-no account filed
April 2022HailPlains-no account filed
May 2020HailPlains-no account filed
June 2019HailPlains-no account filed
May 2018HailPlains-no account filed
May 2018HailPlains-no account filed
June 2014HailPlains-no account filed
August 2013HailPlains-no account filed
August 2013HailPlains-no account filed
August 2013HailPlains-no account filed
May 2012HailPlains-no account filed
March 2012HailPlains-no account filed
September 2011HailPlains-no account filed
June 2008HailPlains-no account filed
April 2006HailPlains-no account filed
April 2006HailPlains-no account filed
May 2006HailPlains-no account filed
September 2006HailPlains-no account filed
July 2005HailPlains-no account filed
July 2005HailPlains-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindPlains-no account filed
June 2005HailPlains-no account filed
June 2005HailPlains-no account filed
April 2004HailPlains-no account filed
July 2004HailPlains-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindPlains-no account filed
July 2004HailPlains-no account filed
July 2004HailPlains-no account filed
July 2004HailPlains-no account filed
July 2004HailPlains-no account filed
July 2004HailPlains-no account filed
July 2004HailPlains-no account filed
June 2004HailPlains-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Meade 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
Hobart4.2 miles8
Collano5.2 miles8
Missler9.2 miles13
Meade13.5 miles14
Fowler22.7 miles14

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 PlainsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q964827The 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 470587. 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.