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.
Population over time
2 figuresPlains 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,146 | |
| 2020 | 1,037 | -109 (-10%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 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.
- 1955 USGS Dodge City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Dodge City quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Dodge City quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Plains quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Liberal quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
7 since 2015Regional 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/undetermined | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 July 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 00PFD20 |
| 15 July 2018 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 18035 |
| 28 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 18021 |
| 17 April 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | not named |
| 2 March 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | not named |
| 11 February 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Meade County | 17007 |
| 14 November 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1801006 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 112 shownRegional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1994 | Tornado (F2) | Plains | $5,000,000 | The 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 2015 | Tornado (EF1) | Plains | $750,000 | This 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 2003 | Tornado (F1) | Plains | $300,000 | This tornado took out numerous trees, pivot sprinklers and blew out windows in one structure. |
| September 1993 | Hail | Plains | $50,000 | no account filed |
| September 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | $25,000 | The public reported numerous power poles blown down. |
| July 1994 | Hail | Plains | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | The Emergency Manager reported several utility poles down near county road G and county road 4. Delayed report. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | A public weather station recorded a wind gust of 64 mph. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | Publick report of overturned irrigation pivot. |
| October 2018 | Heavy Rain | Plains | - | Rainfall for the period was 3.75 inches. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| November 2015 | Tornado (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 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Plains | - | Several city streets were completely under water. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | 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 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | Cattle trucks blown over on the road. |
| October 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | A four inch diameter tree limb was blown down by the high wind. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | Also had golf ball sized hail |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | Power poles were blown down. |
| May 2003 | Flash Flood | Plains | - | 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 2003 | Flash Flood | Plains | - | Extensive flooding was reported in Plains and along highway 54. Many basements were flooded. |
| May 2003 | Heavy Rain | Plains | - | 5.00 inches of rain was reported. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | Trees damaged. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Plains | - | Water over the road. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Plains | - | Water over the road. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Plains | - | Water over the road. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Plains | - | Water over the road. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| May 2020 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| September 2011 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| September 2006 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Plains | - | 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 Plains | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q964827 | 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 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.




