Cross Plains, Wisconsin
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Cross Plains Village. It lies in ZIP code area 53528. The Survey maps it on the Cross Plains quadrangle. 4,104 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 938 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresCross Plains grew from 3,538 to 4,104 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 | 3,538 | |
| 2020 | 4,104 | +566 (+16%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 16 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.
- 1907 USGS Cross Plains quadrangle1:62500
- 1909 USGS Cross Plains quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS Madison quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Madison quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Cross Plains quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1962 USGS Cross Plains quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1991 USGS Madison quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
46 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 46 fires within 5 miles of Cross Plains between 1992 and 2020, burning about 57 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 3 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 burning | 27 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 August 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 19429 |
| 25 July 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 18-2833 |
| 17 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8.5 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | WHIPPORWILL |
| 8 May 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 1800046 |
| 4 May 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 1800044 |
| 27 May 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.2 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 16 May 1992 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 13 May 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2000044 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Cross Plains: 3 producers, 2 past producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, Dimension. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Sand | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Valley Hites Quarry | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Boehnen Inc. Hollefelder Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Middleton-Watson Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Zander Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
31 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cross Plains in 31 storm reports between 2002 and 2026: 13 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 lightning, 2 funnel cloud. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2018 | Lightning | Cross Plains | 2 hurt | Two firefighters responding to a structure fire were indirectly struck by lightning near Cross Plains. Minor injuries occurred. |
| September 2010 | Hail | Cross Plains | $1,000,000 | Trained spotters reported a 1 to 2 mile-wide swath of damage from hail showers that extended from north of Dodgeville, near Cross Plains, to just east northeast of Monona, dissipating near Interstate 90. Hundreds of vehicles were damaged; many homes had siding, window and screen damage; many trees were stripped of their leaves. |
| August 2018 | Lightning | Cross Plains | $500,000 | A home was a complete loss due to a fire from a lightning strike. |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | $40,000 | Numerous trees snapped, uprooted, or downed on the north side of Cross Plains. Powerlines also down. Trees down on vehicles and homes. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Cross Plains | $15,000 | A brief EF1 tornado spun up within the city of Cross Plains between Julius Street and Sylvia Pine Way and moved northeast to near the intersection of Caesar Street and Woodside Drive and dissipated. At least 3 homes had minor roof damage. A number of large trees were uprooted or broken in half. An in-ground basketball pole was bent to a 45 degree angle. Roof soffit and fascia siding was peeled off a municipal pool house. The severe thunderstorm become outflow dominated and resulted in straight line wind damage (trees) further northeast over rural areas northeast Cross Plains. some crop damage was seen, but loss estimates were unavailable. The exact start location was Lat. 43.114895 Lon. -89.647946. The exact end location was Lat. 43.11522 Lon. -89.645138. The EF-rating was based on DI 2 (TH), DOD 4 which suggests wind speeds between 90 and 100 mph. Average path width was 20 yards. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | $10,000 | Powerful thunderstorm wind gusts toppled several large trees and broke branches that brought down some power-lines. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | $6,000 | A tree down on a house. Other reports of small branches and power lines down in the area. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | $3,000 | Branches and power lines down. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | $2,000 | Trees and power lines down in the Cross Plains area. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | $2,000 | Several trees down. |
| May 2014 | Lightning | Cross Plains | $1,500 | A lightning strike caused a tree to ignite and a power line was also downed. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | $1,000 | A large tree uprooted. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | Trained spotter reports 2 inch diameter hail near Cross Plains. |
| July 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Cross Plains | - | This was 1 of 17 tornadoes to occur in Wisconsin on the night of July 28th into the early morning hours of July 29th. This was the 7th overall tornado for the event.|A line of storms developed in northern Wisconsin and pushed south into southern Wisconsin in the overnight hours of the 28th into the 29th of July with mainly brief tornadoes and damaging winds occurring. ||This tornado began to the east of Cross Plains, tracked south across Highway 14 toward Cross Plains State Park where it ended up on south side of the park. The main tree damage was between Highway 14 and Stagecoach Rd southeast of Cross Plains near Black Earth Creek. |
| September 2016 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | A swath of hail damage to crops from Cross Plains to Middleton. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | - | NWS survey team found numerous trees blown down by straight-line thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 65 knots (75 mph). |
| June 2007 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | In addition to the hail, estimated thunderstorm wind gusts to about 43 knots (50 mph) were reported. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | - | Large trees and tree limbs down. |
| April 2002 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | Isolated severe thunderstorm. Severe weather spotter trailing the storm noted some cloud base rotation and a in-flow/feeder cloud band underneath the updraft tower. |
| October 2023 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| July 2017 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| November 2010 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Funnel Cloud | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Funnel Cloud | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Plains | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Bluff | 3.7 miles | 16 | |
| Black Earth | 5.1 miles | 15 | |
| Marxville | 5.3 miles | 15 | |
| Martinsville | 5.7 miles | 15 | |
| West Middleton | 5.8 miles | 17 | |
| Klevenville | 6.2 miles | 16 | |
| Ashton | 6.3 miles | 15 | |
| Riley | 6.5 miles | 17 |
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 Cross Plains | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2085810 | 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 1563557. 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.






