BlockBefore

Bern, Kansas

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Washington Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66408. The Survey maps it on the Bern quadrangle. 161 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,280 feet above sea level.

Bern within Nemaha County

Population over time

2 figures

Bern fell from 166 to 161 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
2010166
2020161-5 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

19 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Bern between 2000 and 2017, burning about 581 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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 burning10
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Smoking1
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
1 August 2001Equipment and vehicle use6.0 acresHorton AgencyJOHN DEERE
2 May 2001Debris and open burning5.0 acresHorton AgencyFESTUS
30 April 2001Debris and open burning1.0 acresHorton AgencyDILLON
25 April 2001Debris and open burning160 acresHorton AgencyKICK
25 April 2001Debris and open burning17 acresHorton AgencyLOST
25 April 2001Debris and open burning2.0 acresHorton AgencyWAGON
25 April 2001Debris and open burning1.0 acresHorton AgencyOLD
25 April 2001Debris and open burning220 acresHorton AgencyPOO

Every fire recorded in Nemaha County

Storms near this place

27 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bern in 27 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 17 hail, 5 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2014Tornado (EF3)Bern2 hurtA tornado touched down around the intersection of highway 71 and 63 around 1030 pm CDT. The damage path moved southeast and included several homes that were severely damaged and one totally destroyed. The worst damage occurred to a slab home anchored to the foundation by anchor bolts installed with nuts and washers every 12-18 inches. All exterior and interior walls were destroyed however the debris was primarily laid on top of the slab with some debris blown to the south. Two adult residents took shelter in a tub and survived with minor injuries although the tub was gone and it was suspected to have been blown into a lake to the south. The tornado damage path continued southeast for approximately 6.5 to 7.5 miles total. EF3 rating with winds to around 140 mph. The end time of the tornado was around 1043 pm CDT.
September 2023HailBern-Golf ball sized hail reported.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindBern-Power poles snapped and tree damage in Bern.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindBern-Tree limbs down.
May 2019Tornado (EF3)Bern-This short-lived but powerful tornado tracked through northern Nemaha County and damaged several structures. The most severe damage occurred to a home towards the middle of the tornado's path, where low end EF-3 damage was noted. Damage to trees and power lines also occurred. The tornado lifted about 200 yards south of the Nebraska state line.
May 2016HailBern-Delayed report, via social media.
May 2016HailBern-Delayed report, via social media.
March 2012HailBern-The nickel-sized hail was 2 to 3 inches deep.
March 2012HailBern-Hail fell for over 20 minutes in Bern.
June 2008HailBern-Report relayed by nssl shave project.
November 2008HailBern-Nickle sized hail fell. Forty to fifty mph winds were also reported.
June 2008HailBern-Report relayed by nssl shave project.
June 2008HailBern-Report relayed by nssl shave project.
September 2007Flash FloodBern-Hwy 71 was closed due to flooding between Hwy 63 and the town of Bern.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindBern-no account filed
August 2019HailBern-no account filed
March 2012HailBern-no account filed
March 2012HailBern-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBern-no account filed
June 2008HailBern-no account filed
May 2004HailBern-no account filed
June 2000HailBern-no account filed
June 1998HailBern-no account filed
June 1998Tornado (F0)Bern-no account filed
June 1998Tornado (F1)Bern-no account filed
June 1998Tornado (F0)Bern-no account filed
May 1997HailBern-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Nemaha 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
Oneida7.0 miles17
Berwick7.0 miles17
Saint Benedict8.5 miles14
Sabetha10.0 miles17
Seneca10.1 miles14
Woodlawn13.6 miles17
Baileyville13.9 miles14
Capioma15.1 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 BernAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q822114The 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 472747. 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.