BlockMcPherson County, Nebraska
18 topographic sheets cover 3 settlements here.
What the record shows
- 34 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 3 populated places in this county; 3 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Wildfire, 1998 to 2019
22 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 22 of them, burning about 2,652 acres. 8 started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 November 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 11 April 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 640 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 23 June 2017 | Natural | 250 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 December 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 100 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 22 August 2011 | Natural | 60 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 20 July 2008 | Natural | 20 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 2 August 2019 | Natural | 20 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 16 March 2018 | Natural | 20 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1974 to 2025
60 of 263 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 263 reports for this county, causing no deaths, no injuries and about $487,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 207 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 36 |
| Tornado | 14 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 |
| Flood | 1 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 |
| Lightning | 1 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2012 | Tornado (EF0) | Ringgold | $100,000 | A tornado touched down approximately five miles south southeast of Ringgold in McPherson County and tracked north and northwest before dissipating near the Ringgold church. Tornado damage included several large tree limbs broken off, cedar trees uprooted, a center pivot irrigation system twisted and overturned, damage to a church building and small storage building. The tornado was on the ground intermittently for four minutes. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Tryon | $75,000 | Thunderstorms with prolonged heavy rain falling on already saturated ground caused widespread flooding across eastern McPherson County. Three to five inches of rain fell, severely damaging rural roads. |
| June 2018 | Tornado (EF1) | Tryon | $60,000 | A rental house and a tree line were damaged by the tornado. The tornado continued to the northeast where it hit another homestead where windows were shattered and a door was blown in on a residence. A full irrigation pivot was also flipped at this location. |
| July 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Tryon | $50,000 | As the tornado touched down on the northwest side of town, it ripped off the porch on a house. As it moved east southeast to the center of town, it ripped off the roof of the McPherson County Courthouse which was thrown into the northwest corner of the roof of the elementary school damaging it. An attached garage was ripped off a house. A horse trailer was picked up and moved from one side of a building to the other side of a building. Finally on the east end of Tryon, the tornado destroyed a porch on a home. Numerous power poles were down and at least 14 large trees were snapped off or uprooted. A few large hailstones also accompanied the storm. |
| February 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | $50,000 | Strong thunderstorm winds destroyed a garage and broke two power line poles south of Tryon. Several tree limbs were blown down in and around the town. |
| July 1977 | Tornado | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | $15,000 | Very strong winds moved 4 grain bins off their foundation by 6 to 8 inches, damaged trees, and broke off sprinkler heads from a center pivot irrigation system. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Tryon | $15,000 | Hail broke out windows on the east and south sides of a house. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Tryon | $12,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Tryon | $10,000 | Shed blown down. |
| July 2007 | Hail | Tryon | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Tryon | $9,000 | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Tryon | $6,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down large tree branches in Tryon. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Tryon | $6,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Tryon | $5,000 | The hail stripped trees of all their leaves. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Tryon | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Tryon | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Tryon | $3,000 | F0 Tornado up to 1/2 mile wide traveled through open rangeland. Utility poles were broken off. |
| June 2004 | Hail | Tryon | $3,000 | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ringgold | $2,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 MPH blew in a wall on a metal outbuilding. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | $2,000 | Large tree limbs down. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Ringgold | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Tryon | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Tryon | $2,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Tryon | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused damage to trees. |
| April 2007 | Hail | Ringgold | $1,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Tryon | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Flats | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Tryon | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Ringgold | $500 | The Tryon fire chief reported 2 inch diameter hail covering state highway 92. |
| May 2000 | Hail | Tryon | $500 | Thunderstorm winds downed large tree limbs. |
| August 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Tryon | - | Tornado briefly touched down over open rangeland with no damage reported. |
| June 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Tryon | - | Tornado largely remained over open terrain, though minor damage was observed at a non occupied home. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Tryon | - | Public reported hail ranging in size from pennies to quarters at this location. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Ringgold | - | Public reported ping pong ball size hail near Ringgold. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ringgold | - | Public reports thunderstorm wind gusts around 70 MPH with blowing dust and little to no rainfall. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Tryon | - | Hail lasted for 5 minutes. Time estimated by radar. |
| September 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ringgold | - | Thunderstorm wind gust of 60 MPH reported at this location. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | Two large trees blown over at this location by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Tryon | - | Public reported quarter size hail southwest of Tryon. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | Public estimated wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph northwest of Tryon. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Tryon | - | Public reported quarter size hail north of Tryon. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Tryon | - | Public reported hail ranging from ping pong ball to hen egg size east of Tryon. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Ringgold | - | Public reported golf ball size hail southeast of Tryon. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Tryon | - | Public reported golf ball size hail west of Tryon. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Tryon | - | Public reported quarter size hail west of Tryon. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | No damage reported. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | No damage reported. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | Wind gusts estimated at 60 MPH along with pea sized hail at this location. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated at around 60 MPH, brought down tree limbs at this location. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | Two inch diameter tree limbs reported down at this location. |
| August 2017 | Hail | Tryon | - | Ping pong ball sized hail along with gusty winds reported at this location. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | Public estimated 70 mph wind gusts with half inch hail. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Tryon | - | Golf ball sized hail covered the ground. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Tryon | - | Ping pong ball sized hail covered the ground. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Ringgold | - | Ping pong to golf ball sized hail covered the ground. |
| September 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tryon | - | Trees bending over from the wind, along with pea size hail. |
| July 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Tryon | - | Brief tornado touchdown in open range land. |
Every populated place in the county
3Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
Provenance
- Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
- Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
- Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
- 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.