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Shaded-relief map of Baldwin City, Kansas: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
KANSAS · DOUGLAS COUNTY

Baldwin City

4,985 people, 1,070 ft above sea level in Douglas County.

1,070 ftElevation, city center
4,985People, 2024 estimate
3 sq miLand area
Clear 43°
Clear now Dew point 27° · ESE 5 mph · high 42°
City of Baldwin City River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Baldwin City plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Baldwin City

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 5:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Philip Billard Municipal Airport (KTOP) · 5:53 PM
Clear
43° Clear Feels like 40° · high of 42° near 6 PM
WindESE 5 mphno gusts
Humidity53%rising to 89% by morning
Pressure30.23 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 27° · Dry39° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 30.7 in · 11 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Douglas County
NWS Topeka and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 6:19 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:02 AM5:08 PM ↓
10 h 6 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
31
GOODAir quality index · ozone
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
42°
30°
51°
31°
54°
37°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
5
3
3
0
0
5
6
6
3
0
0
0
0
3
9
9
6
5
5
5
7
11
14
13
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 39° More humid: 37° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 56° / 34°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42° 29°
0% rain — ESE 4 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
55° 30°
0% rain — SE 4 B
MON Nov. 16 Sunny Sunny
57° 35°
0% rain — S 5 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
60° 43°
0% rain — S 10 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
63° 49°
20% rain — S 14, gusts 25 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
66° 50°
20% rain — SE 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
68° 54°
60% rain up to 0.4″ S 14, gusts 25 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Baldwin City about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the southern Plains three days ago, about 390 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. It came down from about 9,900 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from Texas; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific Northwest. It feels humid. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1999 Nov. 13, 1999

The hottest this week has been

83° on Nov. 13, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1895. Next is 81° in 1956.

81°
83°
19561999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Ottawa record since 1895.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Baldwin City stands on

Baldwin City’s center stands about 1,070 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 920 ft to 1,150 ft, a difference of 230 ft: rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Douglas Group (shale, sandstone), from the Carboniferous, 299 to 324 million years old.

The section below crosses 5 rock units mapped at the surface.

Baldwin City, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
800 ft900 ft1,000 ft1,100 ft BALDWIN CITY1,070 ftOttawa Creekabout 900 ftFowler Hill1,040 ftBlue Mound1,060 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 56×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Douglas Group

Shale, sandstone. Age: Carboniferous, 299 to 324 million years old. About 17 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Sand, silt, clay. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Lansing Group

Shale, limestone. Age: Carboniferous, 299 to 324 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Drift

Sand, silt. Age: Pleistocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 0.7 mi of the line.

Shawnee Group

Limestone, shale. Age: Carboniferous, 299 to 324 million years old. About 0.6 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Baldwin City’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Baldwin City reaches the Gulf of America by way of East Fork Tauy Creek, Tauy Creek, Ottawa Creek, the Marais des Cygnes, the Osage, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,720 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Baldwin City≈ 1,720 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF BALDWIN CITY ≈ 1,720 mi to the Gulf of America East Fork Tauy Creek → Tauy Creek → … → Osage → Missouri → Mississippi

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Baldwin City; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Baldwin City’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1895 · Ottawa, 12 mi south-southwest

Baldwin City has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 89° in July; winter nights fall to about 18° in January. A normal year brings about 9 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 40 inches of water.

40°18°46°22°56°32°66°42°75°53°84°63°89°68°88°65°80°56°69°44°55°32°43°22° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY BALDWIN CITY 39.9 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average89° / 68°high / low, the warmest month
January, average40° / 18°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.9 inwettest months: May and June
Snow a year9.2 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record118°FJuly 14, 1954
Coldest on record−28°FFebruary 13, 1905
Wettest day on record8.45 inAugust 1, 2019
Snowiest day on record14.0 inMarch 23, 1912
90° days a year47about 5 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°110and 21 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 20, to the last in spring, about April 13 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and upJuly 16 to Aug. 9; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezingNov. 13 to March 19; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchApril through June: 15.2 of the year’s 39.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Baldwin City normally reaches 55° and falls to 32°. The record high is 79°, in 1964; the record low 9°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 2.37 in, fell in 1931.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high40°46°56°66°75°84°89°88°80°69°55°43°
Normal low18°22°32°42°53°63°68°65°56°44°32°22°
Rain and melt, in1.221.572.293.795.825.553.754.634.053.082.391.71
Snow, inches3.22.10.70.00.00.00.00.00.00.10.52.6
Record high76° (1950)84° (1981)94° (2026)96° (1910)101° (2000)108° (1980)118° (1954)113° (1936)111° (1947)98° (1939)86° (1980)75° (1939)
Record low−20° (1947)−28° (1905)−9° (1948)11° (1920)21° (1907)40° (1897)47° (1972)42° (1910)27° (1908)16° (1925)1° (1932)−22° (1989)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1895 at Ottawa, 12 miles south-southwest, 160 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Baldwin City on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Overland Park KS · 28 MI 28 miles east Kansas City KS · 34 MI 34 miles northeast Kansas City MO · 42 MI 42 miles northeast Wichita KS · 139 MI 139 miles southwest Springfield MO · 150 MI 150 miles southeast Lincoln NE · 161 MI 161 miles northwest
FORECASTCITY
Map of Baldwin City, Kansas. Explore the plate
KANSAS · DOUGLAS

Baldwin City

4,985 people, 1,070 ft above sea level in Douglas County.

1,070 ftElevation
4,985People
3 sq miLand
Clear 43°
ClearDew point 27°
1

Today in Baldwin City

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy night 42° 0%
9p partly cloudy night 37° 0%
12a mostly cloudy night 35° 0%
3a mostly cloudy night 32° 0%
6a partly cloudy night 30° 0%
9a partly cloudy day 37° 0%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
29
42
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
30
55
B
Mon0%
Sunny Sunny
35
57
B
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
43
60
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
49
63
B
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
50
66
C
Fri60%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
54
68
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 13, 1999

83°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1895.

2

What Baldwin City stands on

Baldwin City’s center stands about 1,070 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 920 ft to 1,150 ft, a difference of 230 ft: rolling country.

Baldwin City, south to north Baldwin City1,070 ftOttawa Creekabout 900 ftFowler Hill1,040 ftBlue Mound1,060 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 106×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,070 ft
Within 3 miles920 to 1,150 ft
Lie of the landRolling (230 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceDouglas Group
Its ageCarboniferous, 299 to 324 million years old
5

Baldwin City’s year

Baldwin City has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 89° in July; winter nights fall to about 18° in January. A normal year brings about 9 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 40 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 39.9 in
July, average89° / 68° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average40° / 18° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.9 in · wettest months: May and June
Snow a year9.2 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record118°F · July 14, 1954
Coldest on record−28°F · February 13, 1905
Wettest day on record8.45 in · August 1, 2019
Snowiest day on record14.0 in · March 23, 1912
90° days a year47 · about 5 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°110 · and 21 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 20, to the last in spring, about April 13 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and up · July 16 to Aug. 9; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 13 to March 19; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · April through June: 15.2 of the year’s 39.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Baldwin City normally reaches 55° and falls to 32°. The record high is 79°, in 1964; the record low 9°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 2.37 in, fell in 1931.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1895 at Ottawa, 12 miles south-southwest, 160 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,720 mito the Gulf of AmericaEast Fork Tauy Creek → Tauy Creek → … → Osage → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Baldwin City reaches the Gulf of America by way of East Fork Tauy Creek, Tauy Creek, Ottawa Creek, the Marais des Cygnes, the Osage, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,720 river miles.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.