BlockFrom the record
1 National Register listing published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Thomas County, Nebraska
30 topographic sheets cover 5 settlements here, and 1 property is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 60 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 1 property here is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a district.
- It was added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 5 populated places in this county; 5 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
1Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessey Nursery | district | 1978 | 78001715 |
Wildfire, 1993 to 2020
94 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 94 of them, burning about 46,461 acres. 42 started naturally and 2 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 42 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 January 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,000 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 20 March 1997 | Smoking | 9,000 acres | Nebraska National Forest | THEDFORD |
| 15 April 1995 | Natural | 6,885 acres | Nebraska National Forest | GOOD FRIDAY |
| 15 January 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,954 acres | Nebraska National Forest | FOUR CORNERS |
| 22 April 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,895 acres | Valentine National Wildlife Refuge | FINNEY LOOP |
| 5 April 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,847 acres | Valentine National Wildlife Refuge | HALSEY DUMP |
| 2 March 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,555 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | DISMAL CA |
| 30 June 2012 | Natural | 1,043 acres | Nebraska National Forest | CAMP 5 |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1962 to 2024
60 of 264 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 264 reports for this county, causing no deaths, no injuries and about $2,988,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 184 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 58 |
| Tornado | 9 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 |
| Flash Flood | 2 |
| Flood | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1986 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Halsey | $50,000 | Park officials reported winds estimated up to 100 mph. The strong winds uprooted several trees and downed tree limbs at the Nebraska National Forest west of Halsey. The winds destroyed an empty, older mobile home and the roof of a home sustained damage from a tree that fell. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Halsey | $50,000 | Thunderstorms with prolonged heavy rain falling on already saturated ground caused widespread flooding across Thomas County. Three to five inches of rain fell, severely damaging rural roads. |
| June 1999 | Tornado (F2) | Thedford | $50,000 | The tornado, observed by numerous storm chasers, including the VORTEX team, and the general public, touched down in Thomas County 3 miles north northwest of Thedford and was on the ground for 15 miles before lifting in southeast Cherry County 6 miles east southeast of Brownlee. The path was over rangeland destroying 9 windmills, several miles of fences and nemerous trees. This was the most significant of 6 tornadoes produced by the same supercell thunderstorm. |
| July 2000 | Hail | Thedford | $50,000 | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Thedford | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Thedford | $30,000 | Hail broke 32 roof panels and 97 windows in greenhouses. |
| May 2023 | Flood | Thedford | $25,000 | Street flooding reported in Thedford. |
| August 1986 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Halsey | $20,000 | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford Arpt | $15,000 | Semi trailer blown over on highway 83 at mile marker 138. |
| August 2002 | Hail | Thedford | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Halsey | $11,000 | A tornado touched down one mile west northwest of Purdum and caused damage to trees and power lines. Large limbs from elm trees were snapped off and displaced up to 300 feet to the south. Also, four power poles on the south side of the road were snapped off and 250 feet of barbed wire fencing was damaged. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Halsey | $10,000 | The hail lasted for several minutes and broke out several windshields in vehicles. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Thedford | $10,000 | Golf ball sized hail driven by 40 mph wind broke windows in a house. At the same time, hail of unknown size had accumulated to a foot deep on U.S. Highway 83 about 16 miles north of Thedford. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Thedford | $8,000 | The public reported pea to golf ball size hail lasting 30 minutes. |
| May 2002 | Hail | Thedford | $8,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Thedford | $8,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Thedford | $7,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Seneca | $5,000 | Large tree limbs blown down |
| June 2001 | Hail | Halsey | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Thedford | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Halsey | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Thedford | $4,000 | Hail accumulated to 2 to 3 inches deep on Highway 83. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Thedford | $3,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Seneca | $3,000 | no account filed |
| May 1974 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $2,500 | no account filed |
| August 1962 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $2,500 | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Thedford | $2,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Thedford | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2023 | Flash Flood | Thedford Arpt | $1,000 | Highway 2 partially closed just east of Thedford with water over the road. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Halsey | $1,000 | Numerous small and large tree branches down at this location. |
| April 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | $1,000 | TREE LIMBS DOWN |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | $1,000 | Large tree branches down from 60 mph wind. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Halsey | $1,000 | Large tree limbs and a window were broken by thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Thedford | $1,000 | no account filed |
| September 2004 | Hail | Thedford | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Seneca | - | Public reported hail to quarter size east of Seneca. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | Thedford / Thomas County Airport AWOS measured a 64 mph wind gust. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Public estimated 60 mph winds near Seneca. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Halsey | - | An NWS employee reported hail to quarter size south of Thedford. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Public estimated peak wind gusts around 60 mph. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Seneca | - | Public reported golf ball size hail north of Seneca. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Thedford | - | Fire department reported tennis ball size hail north of Thedford. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Thedford | - | Public reported golf ball size hail southwest of Thedford. |
| July 2020 | Tornado (EFU) | Thedford | - | Trained weather spotters and KLNX WSR-88D confirmed multiple landspout tornadoes near Thedford, lasting 10 to 15 minutes. All occurred over open range and resulted in no damage. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Thedford | - | Hail ranged from quarter to ping pong ball size in Thedford. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Seneca | - | Public reported golf ball size hail in Seneca. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | Thedford Airport AWOS measured 62 mph wind gust. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts. |
| July 2019 | Hail | Thedford Arpt | - | Public reported golf ball size hail. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | Tree damage with a falling branch breaking a house window. |
| May 2019 | Hail | Thedford | - | Golf ball sized hail and some quarter sized hail fell. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | Wind speeds measured from automated weather observing system. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | No information available. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | No information available. |
| September 2018 | Hail | Thedford | - | Report received via social media. |
| September 2018 | Hail | Thedford | - | Pea to quarter sized hail reported at this location. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Law enforcement reported power lines down in Seneca. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thedford | - | Thunderstorm wind gust of 60 MPH reported. |
Every populated place in the county
5Named 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.