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Wamego, Kansas

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Wamego Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66547. The Survey maps it on the Wamego quadrangle. 4,841 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 991 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Wamego within Pottawatomie County

On record in Wamego

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 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Wamego grew from 4,372 to 4,841 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
20104,372
20204,841+469 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 17 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

33 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 33 fires within 5 miles of Wamego between 2005 and 2018, burning about 1,810 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
Debris and open burning14
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Smoking2
Arson/incendiarism2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
4 July 2018Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreKansas Forest Service1176021
2 July 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreKansas Forest Service1176012
29 June 2018Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreKansas Forest Service1176000
8 April 2017Debris and open burning10 acresPottawatomie County2017014
6 April 2017Debris and open burningunder an acrePottawatomie County28
3 April 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresKansas Forest Service44
3 April 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,500 acresKansas Forest ServiceFLINT ROCK
10 April 2015Debris and open burning20 acresKansas Forest Service47

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pottawatomie County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Wamego: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Mc Carter QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Wamego Sand DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Pottawatomie County

Storms near this place

60 of 93 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wamego in 93 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 44 thunderstorm wind, 40 hail, 4 flash flood, 2 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 2002Thunderstorm WindWamego$227,000Strong winds damaged many homes and residences in Wamego.
May 2007Flash FloodWamego$150,000Water around one foot deep flowing over several streets in the city of Wamego. Nearly 5 inches of rain fell. One intersection noted was 99th and Lincoln. A number of homes and garages were flooded. Rural roads were water covered with some damaged. A section of railroad track was also washed out.
June 2005LightningWamego$50,000Lightning hit feeder lines to the Wamego Municipal Power Plant with some damage to the plant and loss of power to some residents.
June 1998HailWamego$15,000no account filed
June 2007Flash FloodWamego$10,000Water reported to be running over Hwy 24. Numerous county roads also reported to be flooded and impassible on the north side of Wamego, including Hwy 99 between Wamego and Louisville where one foot of water was observed to be flowing over the roadway.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindWamego$5,000Strong winds damaged some homes in Wamego.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindWamego$5,000no account filed
August 2000Thunderstorm WindWamego$4,000Strong winds did roof damage to 2 homes in Wamego. The same storm damaged the corn crop near Wamego as well.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindWamego$3,000Strong winds damaged power poles.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindWamego$3,000Strong winds blew down some power lines.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindWamego$3,000Strong winds damaged some business signs in Wamego.
October 2002Thunderstorm WindWamego$3,000Strong winds blew a bin over and did some damage to it.
July 2008LightningWamego$1,000House fire as a result of a lightning strike.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindWamego-Weather Station measured.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindWamego-Measured gust to 62 mph.
March 2024HailWamego-Report from mping.
March 2024HailWamego-Ground in Wamego covered by quarter size hail.
October 2024HailWamego-Quarter size hail in Wamego.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindWamego-Small shed lost its roof and was knocked over in Wamego.
June 2024HailWamego-Delayed report from social media.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWamego-Emergency manger recorded 68 mph wind gust.
June 2022HailWamego-Quarter sized hail reported.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindWamego-Railroad signs damaged and impaled into trees, possibly caused by a tornado.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWamego-Measured on a mesonet station.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWamego-Many snapped tree branches in the city, and a 40 foot tall tree snapped and blocking the roadway. The health of the tree was unknown.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWamego-Eight inch diameter tree completely snapped.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWamego-Tree limbs reported down in Wamego with wind speeds estimated at 60 MPH.
October 2017Thunderstorm WindWamego-Large tree was blown down on Valley Street in southeast Wamego.
May 2016Tornado (EF1)Wamego-A tornado began along the north bank of the Kansas River in Wamego and moved north through the city. Thankfully only minor tree limb and shingle damage occurred in the city as the tornado was weak in this location. However as it moved north out of the city the tornado intensified and produced more significant structural damage to homes north of Wamego. The tornado continued to travel north and ended north of Louisville. The tornado was rated EF1.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWamego-Four inch diameter limbs are down. Time was estimated by radar.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWamego-Estimated wind gust.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWamego-Old tree fell across the road.
June 2015Flash FloodWamego-Flooding west of Wamego on hwy 24.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindWamego-Tree limbs up to 8 inches in diameter down.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindWamego-Wind knocked down power lines.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindWamego-Tree down in Wamego.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindWamego-A trained spotter near Wamego reported a 65 mph wind gust.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindWamego-Trees blown down.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWamego-Trained spotters near St. George, Wamego, and Louisville all reported estimated 70 mph wind gusts.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWamego-The gust was reported by law enforcement.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWamego-The emergency manager reports 60 mph winds in Wamego.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWamego-Power lines are down in Wamego.
March 2006HailWamego-Hail up to the size of nickels fell for several minutes.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindWamego-Tree reported to have blown down.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindWamego-Car ports and fencing destroyed.
July 2004Flash FloodWamego-Heavy rains resulted in water running in the streets in Wamego.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Wamego-A tornado touched down briefly over open country southeast of Wamego.
August 2002HailWamego-Quarter size hail fell for over 5 minutes west of Wamego. No damage reports were received.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindWamego-Three inch tree limbs were downed.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindWamego-no account filed
June 2024HailWamego-no account filed
June 2024HailWamego-no account filed
June 2024HailWamego-no account filed
June 2024HailWamego-no account filed
June 2024HailWamego-no account filed
June 2024HailWamego-no account filed
July 2020HailWamego-no account filed
May 2018HailWamego-no account filed
May 2018HailWamego-no account filed
July 2016HailWamego-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pottawatomie 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
Louisville3.4 miles16
Saint George6.2 miles18
Belvue6.8 miles17
Swamp Angel9.4 miles18
Flush9.6 miles16
Laclede11.0 miles16
Saint Marys12.4 miles16
Westmoreland14.4 miles17

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 WamegoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1906062The 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 476420. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.