BlockBefore

Potwin, Kansas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Plum Grove Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67123. It stands on Diamond Creek. The Survey maps it on the Potwin quadrangle. 421 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,342 feet above sea level.

Potwin within Butler County

Population over time

2 figures

Potwin fell from 449 to 421 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
2010449
2020421-28 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 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

5 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Potwin between 2015 and 2018, burning about 12 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
Debris and open burning2

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
7 April 2018Debris and open burning5.0 acresKansas Forest Service140
8 March 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresKansas Forest Service24
7 March 2015Debris and open burning5.0 acresKansas Forest Service14
6 March 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service13
7 February 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service9

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Butler County

Storms near this place

60 of 83 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Potwin in 83 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 39 hail, 39 thunderstorm wind, 3 heavy rain, 1 flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2008Thunderstorm WindPotwin1 hurt, $600,000An intense bow echo moved across northern Butler county producing widespread wind damage from the Potwin area through Cassoday. Seventy four very large high voltage H-poles were downed along with 130 power poles and a 300 ft cell phone tower also collapsed. Additionally, 3 semi trucks were blown off of the Kansas Turnpike which resulted in one injury. Several calves were also killed by flying debris near Cassoday.
April 1998HailPotwin$50,000no account filed
March 2002Thunderstorm WindPotwin$20,000Large poles downed.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindPotwin$5,000Winds estimated around 65 mph produced some sporadic damage in Potwin, including a downed light pole, a roof blown off the backstop at a ballfield, and some downed tree limbs.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindPotwin$1,000Strong winds downed 2-3 inch diameter tree limbs.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindPotwin$500Six inch tree limbs were knocked down.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Six to twelve-inch diameter tree limbs were reported down.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Fire department relayed to emergency management that two outbuildings were damaged. A machine shed was moved off of its foundation, and another outbuilding lost part of its metal roof.
July 2023Heavy RainPotwin-Measured 3.33 inches of rainfall.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Measured wind gust of 61kts.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Measured wind gust.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindPotwin-This was an estimated wind gust.
July 2022Heavy RainPotwin-A Cocorahs observer reported 2.13inches in 24 hours.
November 2022Heavy RainPotwin-A Coop observer reported 2.08 inches of rainfall.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Spotter estimated winds of 60 mph.
May 2019Flash FloodPotwin-The chaser reported that a county road was being inundated by high water. The flash flood occurred near 90th Rd. and Hopkins Switch.
June 2018HailPotwin-The quarter-sized hail was reported by the Potwin Fire department and was relayed by the Butler County Emergency manager.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Quarter-sized hail was also reported by the Potwin Fire Department. The report was relayed via Butler County Emergency Management.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Damage to a mobile home was reported to be damaged along with several trees.
October 2017Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Several three to four inch tree limbs were blown down.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindPotwin-A 6 to 8 inch tree branch and a power pole were blown down.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindPotwin-A coop observer reported the gust. Power was reported out.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindPotwin-A trained spotter estimated 50 to 60 mph wind with heavy downpours.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindPotwin-A branch estimated at 10 feet long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter blown down.
June 2011HailPotwin-Baseball sized hail was reported at Highway 196 and Shumway road.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Estimated gust reported by a trained spotter.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Heavy rainfall was also reported.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindPotwin-A wheelbarrow flew 60 feet.
May 2010HailPotwin-Wind gusts to 55 mph were also reported.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Winds were estimated by the Emergency Manager.
May 2008FloodPotwin-Water was reported over River Valley Road northeast of Potwin.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Branches 1-1 1/2 feet in diameter downed.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Occurred at Highway 196/NW 30th St. intersection.
April 1999Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Occurred at K-196 and Meadowlark Rd.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindPotwin-Several trees and large limbs were blown down.
April 2026HailPotwin-no account filed
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPotwin-no account filed
April 2022HailPotwin-no account filed
May 2018HailPotwin-no account filed
May 2016HailPotwin-no account filed
June 2016HailPotwin-no account filed
October 2016HailPotwin-no account filed
May 2014HailPotwin-no account filed
May 2013HailPotwin-no account filed
September 2013HailPotwin-no account filed
June 2011HailPotwin-no account filed
June 2011HailPotwin-no account filed
April 2011HailPotwin-no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindPotwin-no account filed
June 2010HailPotwin-no account filed
April 2010HailPotwin-no account filed
July 2010HailPotwin-no account filed
June 2009HailPotwin-no account filed
March 2009HailPotwin-no account filed
March 2009HailPotwin-no account filed
June 2008HailPotwin-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindPotwin-no account filed
May 2005HailPotwin-no account filed
May 2005HailPotwin-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindPotwin-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Butler 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
Brainerd4.1 miles14
Hopkins5.5 miles13
Whitewater7.0 miles14
De Graff8.8 miles14
Midian9.6 miles14
Elbing9.7 miles16
Towanda9.8 miles14
Oil Hill9.9 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 PotwinAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2475309The 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 473720. 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.