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Russell, Kansas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Russell City. It lies in ZIP code area 67665. The Survey maps it on the Russell quadrangle. 4,401 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,827 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Russell within Russell County

On record in Russell

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 8 records

Population over time

2 figures

Russell fell from 4,506 to 4,401 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
20104,506
20204,401-105 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 13 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

23 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 23 fires within 5 miles of Russell between 2015 and 2018, burning about 35 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were 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/undetermined9
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking2
Debris and open burning2
Arson/incendiarism2

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
6 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresRussell County17042
29 August 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreRussell County17039
26 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresKansas Forest Service15029
21 August 2017Debris and open burning1.0 acresRussell County152
14 July 2015Arson/incendiarismunder an acreKansas Forest Service111
12 July 2017Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreRussell County127
12 July 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service18
9 June 2018Smokingunder an acreKansas Forest Service94

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Russell County

Storms near this place

60 of 238 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Russell in 238 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 110 thunderstorm wind, 93 hail, 19 tornado, 6 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
July 1994Thunderstorm WindRussell$500,000Winds of 85 to 95 an hour accompanied a line of thunderstorms that moved across the county. In the Russell area, four tractor-semitrailers were overturned on Interstate 70. A 50- by 100-foot boat and RV storage shed was destroyed near Dorrance with some of its debris scattered hundreds of yards. Damage to the shed was calculated at $30 thousand. Total county damage was about $40 thousand.
September 2018FloodRussell$100,000A number of rural roads and low water crossings were flooded. Some roads reported washed out culverts.
September 2006Tornado (F1)Russell$100,000The tornado moved NNE along the west side of Russell and damaged two sheds, blew the roof from an oil field pipeline building, and blew the windows out of a home.
July 2004Tornado (F1)Russell$100,000Two homes damaged, one of which was unroofed, numerous outbuildings, as well as damage to several trees. (Lucas-Sylvan News contributed greatly to this narrative.)
June 1996Thunderstorm WindRussell$100,000no account filed
May 2010LightningRussell$60,000Sometime on the 19th, lightning from a relatively weak area of showers and thunderstorms struck a tank battery near the intersection of 184th Street and Plymouth road southwest of Russell. The battery was set ablaze. No injuries were incurred, but the tank battery was badly damaged. The time of the event was roughly estimated based off of archived radar data. The Russell County News contributed to this article.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindRussell$50,000Widespread large tree limbs of 4 to 5 inches in diameter were knocked in east Russell.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindRussell$50,000Semi-truck blown over on I-70.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRussell$50,000TWO TRAILERS FLIPPED OVER, TREES & POWER LINES DOWNED.
August 2008FloodRussell$25,000Law enforcement reported a county road had been washed out about 7 miles north of Russell.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindRussell$25,000A pickup pulling a camper was blown over near mile marker 206 on interstate 70.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindRussell$25,000Trees and power lines downed severing power to Russell for about an hour.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRussell$25,000MOBILE HOME DEMOLISHED. PICKUP TRUCK & STORAGE SHED DAMAGED.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRussell$15,000Numerous trees were reported down across the city. A few power lines were also knocked down, which led to portions of town to be without power for a short time.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindRussell$12,500Empty semi tractor-trailer rig over turned on I-70.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindRussell$12,000A trained spotter estimated the winds, causing trees and power poles to be blown down.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindRussell$10,000At least 5 power poles were downed. The Salina Journal also contributed to this report.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRussell$10,000SECTIONS OF ROOF TORN FROM LARGE METAL STORAGE WAREHOUSES.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindRussell$5,000Power lines were downed in the city of Russell.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindRussell$5,000Guttering torn off a house.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindRussell$4,000A power pole was knocked down.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRussell$1,000Five to six inch tree limbs down on 5th street.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindRussell$1,000Winds estimated around 65 mph downed six-inch tree limbs, and also blew over a residential television antenna.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindRussell$1,00012-inch diameter tree uprooted.
June 2022FloodRussell$500Roadways in the town of Russell were completely covered in water.
April 1994HailRussell$500no account filed
July 1994Thunderstorm WindRussell$500no account filed
July 1994Thunderstorm WindRussell$500no account filed
May 1993HailRussell$500no account filed
May 1993HailRussell$500no account filed
July 2020Thunderstorm WindRussell$200Several medium size tree branches down around the area.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindRussell$100One inch tree limbs broken, also some shingles blown off. Report from Mping.
October 2018FloodRussell$100Numerous rural roads were flooded across the county.
June 2013FloodRussell$100A trained spotter reported widespread street flooding across town.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindRussell$100Anemometer blown away.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindRussell$50no account filed
May 2024Tornado (EF1)Russell-The majority of the damage was to numerous power poles that were either broken or bent. Some stacked old power poles were tossed in various directions.
May 2024HailRussell-There were several reports in Russell of half-dollar to tennis ball sized hail. During the NWS Storm Survey the next day, there was noted hail damage to various structures in town including the upper windows at the Russell Municipal Airport. The damage was likely worsened by the measured 82 mph winds.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindRussell-Power lines were knocked down and power poles were snapped in Russell.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindRussell-Emergency manager reported tree limbs and power lines down.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindRussell-A storm chaser estimated the wind gusts to be 60 mph.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindRussell-An estimated 50 to 60 mph winds occurred.
June 2022Heavy RainRussell-A trained spotter in Russell reported 1.81 inches of rainfall in 40 minutes.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindRussell-A 40 foot tall and 3 foot wide Elm tree was blown over. Time was estimated based on radar data.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindRussell-Law enforcement dispatch reported the gust.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindRussell-Several trees and tree limbs were knocked down. Power outages occurred in town.
May 2021FloodRussell-Water was reported over Old Highway 81 making travel difficult and slow.
May 2021HailRussell-A tree was also uprooted and wind speeds of 60 mph were reported.
May 2021HailRussell-This report came in via social media pic.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindRussell-Dime size hail was also reported with the severe gusts.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindRussell-A damage report was relayed via mPING. The app does not allow for specifics.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindRussell-Thunderstorm wind damage report in Russell via social media with 4 to 6 inch diameter tree limbs down in town.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindRussell-Branches up to 6 inches in diameter were blown down across town. The report came in via social media.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindRussell-Reported by a trained spotter.
August 2019Heavy RainRussell-This was a 24 hour total.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindRussell-No damage was reported.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindRussell-A trained spotter estimated the gust.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindRussell-There were no reports of damage.
May 2017HailRussell-Hail 2.25 inches in diameter struck the east side of town. No damage was reported.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindRussell-Two semi tractor trailers were blown over west of town on interstate 70.

Every storm recorded in Russell 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
Balta3.0 miles13
Homer3.7 miles14
Bunker Hill8.4 miles13
Gorham8.7 miles14
Milberger13.0 miles13
Fairport13.8 miles12
Dorrance14.7 miles14
Paradise15.4 miles13

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 RussellAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1931592The 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 475222. 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.