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
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
Banks-Waudby Buildinglisted 2006
Dream Theaterlisted 2006
Mann Houselisted 2001
Russell County Jail and Sheriff's Residencelisted 2012
US Post Office-Russelllisted 1989
Woelk Houselisted 2001- First National Bank-Waudby Buildinglisted 2006
- Nicholas Gernon Houselisted 2022
Population over time
2 figuresRussell 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 4,506 | |
| 2020 | 4,401 | -105 (-2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 13 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.
- 1896 USGS Russell quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Great Bend quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Great Bend quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Great Bend quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1967 USGS Russell quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Russell quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
23 since 2015Regional 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/undetermined | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Russell County | 17042 |
| 29 August 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Russell County | 17039 |
| 26 August 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 15029 |
| 21 August 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Russell County | 152 |
| 14 July 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 111 |
| 12 July 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Russell County | 127 |
| 12 July 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 18 |
| 9 June 2018 | Smoking | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 94 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 238 shownRegional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $500,000 | Winds 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 2018 | Flood | Russell | $100,000 | A number of rural roads and low water crossings were flooded. Some roads reported washed out culverts. |
| September 2006 | Tornado (F1) | Russell | $100,000 | The 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 2004 | Tornado (F1) | Russell | $100,000 | Two 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 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $100,000 | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Lightning | Russell | $60,000 | Sometime 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 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $50,000 | Widespread large tree limbs of 4 to 5 inches in diameter were knocked in east Russell. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $50,000 | Semi-truck blown over on I-70. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $50,000 | TWO TRAILERS FLIPPED OVER, TREES & POWER LINES DOWNED. |
| August 2008 | Flood | Russell | $25,000 | Law enforcement reported a county road had been washed out about 7 miles north of Russell. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $25,000 | A pickup pulling a camper was blown over near mile marker 206 on interstate 70. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $25,000 | Trees and power lines downed severing power to Russell for about an hour. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $25,000 | MOBILE HOME DEMOLISHED. PICKUP TRUCK & STORAGE SHED DAMAGED. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $15,000 | Numerous 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 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $12,500 | Empty semi tractor-trailer rig over turned on I-70. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $12,000 | A trained spotter estimated the winds, causing trees and power poles to be blown down. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $10,000 | At least 5 power poles were downed. The Salina Journal also contributed to this report. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $10,000 | SECTIONS OF ROOF TORN FROM LARGE METAL STORAGE WAREHOUSES. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $5,000 | Power lines were downed in the city of Russell. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $5,000 | Guttering torn off a house. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $4,000 | A power pole was knocked down. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $1,000 | Five to six inch tree limbs down on 5th street. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $1,000 | Winds estimated around 65 mph downed six-inch tree limbs, and also blew over a residential television antenna. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $1,000 | 12-inch diameter tree uprooted. |
| June 2022 | Flood | Russell | $500 | Roadways in the town of Russell were completely covered in water. |
| April 1994 | Hail | Russell | $500 | no account filed |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $500 | no account filed |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $500 | no account filed |
| May 1993 | Hail | Russell | $500 | no account filed |
| May 1993 | Hail | Russell | $500 | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $200 | Several medium size tree branches down around the area. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $100 | One inch tree limbs broken, also some shingles blown off. Report from Mping. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Russell | $100 | Numerous rural roads were flooded across the county. |
| June 2013 | Flood | Russell | $100 | A trained spotter reported widespread street flooding across town. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $100 | Anemometer blown away. |
| May 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | $50 | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Tornado (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 2024 | Hail | Russell | - | 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 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Power lines were knocked down and power poles were snapped in Russell. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Emergency manager reported tree limbs and power lines down. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | A storm chaser estimated the wind gusts to be 60 mph. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | An estimated 50 to 60 mph winds occurred. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Russell | - | A trained spotter in Russell reported 1.81 inches of rainfall in 40 minutes. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | A 40 foot tall and 3 foot wide Elm tree was blown over. Time was estimated based on radar data. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Law enforcement dispatch reported the gust. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Several trees and tree limbs were knocked down. Power outages occurred in town. |
| May 2021 | Flood | Russell | - | Water was reported over Old Highway 81 making travel difficult and slow. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Russell | - | A tree was also uprooted and wind speeds of 60 mph were reported. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Russell | - | This report came in via social media pic. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Dime size hail was also reported with the severe gusts. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | A damage report was relayed via mPING. The app does not allow for specifics. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Thunderstorm wind damage report in Russell via social media with 4 to 6 inch diameter tree limbs down in town. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Branches up to 6 inches in diameter were blown down across town. The report came in via social media. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Reported by a trained spotter. |
| August 2019 | Heavy Rain | Russell | - | This was a 24 hour total. |
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | No damage was reported. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | A trained spotter estimated the gust. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | There were no reports of damage. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Russell | - | Hail 2.25 inches in diameter struck the east side of town. No damage was reported. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Russell | - | Two semi tractor trailers were blown over west of town on interstate 70. |
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 Russell | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1931592 | 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 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.





