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Silver Lake, Kansas

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1983. It stands in Silver Lake Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66539. It stands on Ensign Creek. The Survey maps it on the Silver Lake quadrangle. 1,345 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 912 feet above sea level.

Silver Lake within Shawnee County

Population over time

2 figures

Silver Lake fell from 1,439 to 1,345 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
20101,439
20201,345-94 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 20 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

76 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 76 fires within 5 miles of Silver Lake between 2005 and 2019, burning about 719 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 21 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/undetermined33
Arson/incendiarism21
Debris and open burning15
Smoking3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Natural1

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
27 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service15
19 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service17217
13 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreShawnee County219
11 August 2018Arson/incendiarismunder an acreKansas Forest Service232
9 July 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresKansas Forest Service200
19 June 2018Naturalunder an acreKansas Forest Service174
15 June 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreShawnee County95
11 June 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service8824

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shawnee County

Storms near this place

54 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Silver Lake in 54 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 26 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 4 tornado, 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 1995Tornado (F0)Silver Lake$100,000A small weak tornado touched down briefly on the west side of Silver Lake, near the COOP business, damaging several buildings, a storage tank and a shed.
September 1999LightningSilver Lake$40,000Severe thunderstorms developed over east-central Kansas the evening of the 26th and produced several reports of large hail. Lightning also struck a house near Silver Lake and ignited a fire that destroyed the residence.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake$25,000High winds and hail to nearly two inches produced damage in the area. Jefferson County Perry ,17,0250CST,,,0,0,10K,?,Hail (0.75)
June 1994Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake$5,000High winds knocked down several large trees.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake$3,000Strong winds downed power lines doing some damage to them.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake$1,000Strong winds blew over a road sign along Interstate 70.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Large tree limbs broken and peach tree uprooted.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Tree damage across much of the community of Silver Lake consistent with widespread estimated 70-90 mph wind speeds.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Report of 8 inch diameter tree split in half.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Winds estimated at 65 mph, small tree limbs broken.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Estimated gusts of 70 to 75 mph.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Wind gust of 70 mph reported. No known damage.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Survey found numerous tree with damage and a few center pivots overturned. Winds estimated as high as 85 mph.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Relayed through the Emergency Manager.
May 2022HailSilver Lake-Via social media.
April 2020HailSilver Lake-Nickel sized hail reported.
April 2020HailSilver Lake-Quarter sized hail reported.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Numerous small tree limbs down with limbs up to 6 inches in diameter snapped.
August 2017Flash FloodSilver Lake-Northwest Hodges Road from 35th Street to Highway 24 is approximately 2 feet under water.
May 2016Tornado (EF0)Silver Lake-Small tornado was apparently embedded within a bow echo that moved across Silver Lake. The straight line winds associated with the bow echo produced more widespread damage both north and south of highway 24 where several irrigation pivots were overturned. A more concentrated area of tree and minor structural damage occurred south of highway 24 beginning in southwest parts of Silver Lake and continuing ENE for approximately 1.5 miles. One outbuilding was severely damaged where appeared the wind entered on the southwest side and contributed to the failure of the structure.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Report of an outbuilding destroyed and irrigation pivots overturned. Near 89th Street and Highway 24.
April 2016Tornado (EF0)Silver Lake-Storm chaser reported a confirmed tornado with several photos of a ragged funnel and reported that they saw debris kicked up on the ground. No damage and occurred in an open field.
September 2016Flash FloodSilver Lake-Driveway was washed out by flash-flooding.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Wind gusts estimated.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Broadcast media reports estimated wind speeds of 60 mph in Silver Lake.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Some 3 inch diameter limbs about 8 to 9 feet long was reported down in a yard. Power to the house was knocked out.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-A trained spotter reported a 60 mph wind gust near Silver Lake, which broke some small tree limbs on the property.
September 2008FloodSilver Lake-Reported water over Northwest 31st St. up to 1 foot deep.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-The Kansas Highway Patrol and amateur radio reported a 60 to 70 mph wind gust along this path.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-A sixty by eighty foot metal shed was blown down. Tree damage was also reported.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-8 inch diameter tree snapped in half. Time estimated. Damage was caused by decaying thunderstorms which resulted in reports of rapid temperature rises...known as heat bursts...across the area.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-Small to medium size trees toppled or uprooted.
August 2004Tornado (F0)Silver Lake-A tornado touched down over open country south of Silver Lake and traveled a short distance before dissipating.
April 2016HailSilver Lake-no account filed
April 2014HailSilver Lake-no account filed
October 2014HailSilver Lake-no account filed
June 2013HailSilver Lake-no account filed
May 2011HailSilver Lake-no account filed
May 2011HailSilver Lake-no account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-no account filed
March 2006HailSilver Lake-no account filed
June 2005HailSilver Lake-no account filed
June 2005HailSilver Lake-no account filed
May 2002Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-no account filed
April 2001HailSilver Lake-no account filed
April 2001HailSilver Lake-no account filed
May 2000HailSilver Lake-no account filed
May 2000HailSilver Lake-no account filed
May 2000HailSilver Lake-no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-no account filed
September 2000HailSilver Lake-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindSilver Lake-no account filed
October 1997Funnel CloudSilver Lake-no account filed
August 1996Flash FloodSilver Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Shawnee 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
Valencia2.0 miles19
Kiro3.3 miles20
Grove4.4 miles19
Willard4.5 miles19
Rossville5.4 miles19
Menoken5.5 miles20
Elmont9.3 miles20
Topeka10.3 miles21

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 Silver LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2666509The 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 478658. 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.