BlockBefore

Preston, Kansas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Township 6. It lies in ZIP code area 67583. The Survey maps it on the Preston quadrangle. 115 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,834 feet above sea level.

Preston within Pratt County

Population over time

2 figures

Preston fell from 158 to 115 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
2010158
2020115-43 (-27%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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

11 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Preston between 2016 and 2020, burning about 195 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
Debris and open burning5
Equipment and vehicle use2
Smoking2
Natural1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
28 September 2017Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresPratt County25
15 September 2017Natural2.0 acresPratt County22
7 July 2018Debris and open burning5.0 acresKansas Forest Service14
9 April 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined40 acresPratt County12
8 April 2017Debris and open burning1.0 acresPratt County11
20 April 2017Smokingunder an acrePratt County14
19 April 2018Debris and open burning70 acresKansas Forest Service10
16 April 2018Debris and open burning20 acresKansas Forest Service9

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pratt County

Storms near this place

60 of 96 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Preston in 96 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 53 hail, 24 thunderstorm wind, 7 heavy rain, 5 tornado. 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 2015Thunderstorm WindPreston$100,000Several pivot irrigation systems were overturned by the wind.
June 2008Tornado (EF1)Preston$65,000This relatively brief tornado was moving at about 60 mph and turned a pivot irrigation sprinkler over.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindPreston$50,000A pivot irrigation system was overturned and a round hay bale was blown across the road.
May 1996LightningPreston$20,000no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindPreston$10,000no account filed
April 2026HailPreston-A social media report of 1.5 inch hail.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindPreston-The report was from KKSPREST2 observation station.
July 2025Heavy RainPreston-A mesonet recorded 5.82 inches of rain around the time period lists over a few hours.
May 2024Heavy RainPreston-A rainfall report of 1.50 inches.
May 2024Heavy RainPreston-Rainfall report of 1.60 inches.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindPreston-Winds were estimated to be 65 MPH.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindPreston-A large machine shed was destroyed.
September 2018FloodPreston-Water was flowing across the highway.
September 2018Heavy RainPreston-Rainfall of 6.25 inches was measured.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindPreston-Winds were estimated to be at least 70 MPH.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindPreston-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
June 2017HailPreston-There was also 60 mph wind with the hail.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindPreston-There was also golf ball sized hail with the high wind.
September 2017Flash FloodPreston-Water was around six inches over local roads.
September 2017Flash FloodPreston-Water was over highway 61 and water was entering three homes with water encroaching on the 4th home.
September 2017Heavy RainPreston-Rainfall of 6.40 inches was reported during the previous 24 hours.
July 2013Flash FloodPreston-There were several reports of water over the road.
July 2013Tornado (EF0)Preston-This tornado lasted just a minute.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPreston-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindPreston-A power pole was blown over and there was damage to an outbuilding.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindPreston-Winds were estimated to be 60 mph.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPreston-Winds were estimated to be 70 MPH.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindPreston-Ten to twelve inch diameter tree branches were blown down.
July 2010FloodPreston-Rainfall of 3.75 inches in an hour caused street flooding in Preston.
July 2010Heavy RainPreston-Rainfall of 3.75 was observed.
July 2010Heavy RainPreston-Rainfall of 4.50 was reported at this location.
May 2010Funnel CloudPreston-A brief funnel cloud was observed.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Preston-This was brief and weak tornado.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindPreston-Two to three inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.
June 2008HailPreston-This was actually a storm chaser report but relayed by the TV station.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindPreston-Tree limbs up to 10 inches in diameter were blown down.
April 2005HailPreston-The hail completely covered the ground and the highway.
August 2005Tornado (F0)Preston-This was a brief tornado. Although the condensation never reached the ground, there was a dust swirl that lasted less than one minute.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindPreston-Numerous 4 to 6 inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindPreston-Six inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.
April 1999Tornado (F0)Preston-Tornado formed out of a low topped supercell.
May 1995HailPreston-Hail the size of cantaloupes was reported. Unspecified damage was done.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindPreston-no account filed
April 2023HailPreston-no account filed
March 2021Thunderstorm WindPreston-no account filed
June 2017HailPreston-no account filed
June 2015HailPreston-no account filed
May 2013HailPreston-no account filed
June 2011HailPreston-no account filed
June 2011HailPreston-no account filed
May 2011HailPreston-no account filed
May 2011HailPreston-no account filed
May 2011HailPreston-no account filed
May 2011HailPreston-no account filed
May 2011HailPreston-no account filed
June 2009HailPreston-no account filed
July 2009HailPreston-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindPreston-no account filed
June 2008HailPreston-no account filed
May 2007HailPreston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pratt 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
Natrona6.7 miles14
Cairo7.5 miles14
Waldeck7.8 miles14
Iuka9.9 miles14
Pratt12.6 miles14
Byers16.8 miles14
Sawyer19.3 miles14
Cullison20.7 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 PrestonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q782641The 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 473767. 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.