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Bertrand, Nebraska

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Precinct 3. It lies in ZIP code area 68927. The Survey maps it on the Bertrand quadrangle. 709 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,520 feet above sea level.

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Bertrand within Phelps County

Population over time

2 figures

Bertrand fell from 750 to 709 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
2010750
2020709-41 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 16 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

17 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Bertrand between 1993 and 2020, burning about 396 acres in total. 1 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 burning5
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Natural1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
30 September 2020Equipment and vehicle use20 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
9 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
7 April 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
26 April 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
7 March 2015Debris and open burning12 acresRainwater Basin Wetland Management DistrictPETERSON FIRE
6 March 2017Power generation/transmission/distribution76 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
29 March 2016Natural20 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
21 March 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Phelps County

Storms near this place

58 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bertrand in 58 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 32 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
May 2016Thunderstorm WindBertrand$175,000Wind gusts estimated to be as high as 70 MPH resulted in blowing dust and visibility dropping to near zero. A few large tree branches were downed in town, while just outside of town, a few irrigation pivots suffered damage.
July 2024HailBertrand$125,000no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBertrand$100,000A wind gust of 64 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located in Bertrand. There was an irrigation pivot tipped over near the county line west of town.
September 2005HailBertrand$100,00070 mph winds were also reported by local law enforcement in this area.
May 2024HailBertrand$100,000no account filed
October 2023Tornado (EF0)Bertrand$90,000A brief tornado occurred in northwest Phelps County and was on the ground just shy of two miles. The tornado upset the end of one center irrigation pivot before rolling across |a cattle feed lot. At the feed lot, the tornado damaged some trees, caused minor roof damage, blew out vehicle winds and lifted the cover from a small generator shed. The tornado likely lifted northeast of the feed lot. The estimated maximum wind speed of 80 MPH was based upon the tree damage and pivot damage.
July 2011HailBertrand$50,000Hail up to the size of ping pong balls was covering Highway 23 between Bertrand and Loomis.
July 2019Flash FloodBertrand$25,000Radar estimates showed rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches fell over the warned area in a short amount of time, with up to 5 inches measured in Bertrand. Emergency management reported that flash flooding occurred in Bertrand and the surrounding areas, including the headwaters area of the Turkey Creek north of Edison, which resulted in a rise above minor flood stage during the daytime hours on the 5th.
May 2012HailBertrand$25,000no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBertrand$25,000no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindBertrand$25,000no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindBertrand$25,000no account filed
May 1998HailBertrand$20,000no account filed
June 2016Flash FloodBertrand$10,000Several county roads were flooded and were closed in between Loomis and Bertrand.
July 2006HailBertrand$10,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindBertrand$8,000no account filed
October 2013FloodBertrand$5,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindBertrand$5,000no account filed
August 1998Thunderstorm WindBertrand$5,000no account filed
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBertrand$2,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 65 MPH resulted in downed tree limbs in the area, including one limb closer to 10 inches in diameter.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindBertrand-A wind gust of 68 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located eight miles south-southwest of Overton.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindBertrand-A wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located seven miles south-southwest of Overton.
May 2023HailBertrand-Penny to quarter size hail was reported in Bertrand.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindBertrand-A wind gust of 61 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located in Bertrand.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBertrand-A wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a Nebraska Mesonet site located six miles south-southeast of Overton.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBertrand-A wind gust of 62 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located six miles south-southeast of Overton.
April 2017HailBertrand-Quarter to golf ball size hail was reported.
April 2017Thunderstorm WindBertrand-Wind gusts were estimated to be between 65 and 70 MPH.
June 2011HailBertrand-Heavy rainfall with near zero visibility was reported at the time of the hail.
October 2011Heavy RainBertrand-Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 5.28 inches was reported by a Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network observer.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBertrand-Wind gusts estimated at 60 mph.
June 2008Tornado (EF0)Bertrand-This tornado was briefly on the ground and reported by amateur radio spotters. No damage was reported.
May 2008Tornado (EF0)Bertrand-Trained spotters reported a weak tornado that started in northeast Gosper County and moved into northwest Phelps County. This tornado skipped across open country and caused no damage. The tornado lifted near the Platte River south of Odessa in northern Phelps County.
May 1993HailBertrand-Golf ball-size hail fell one mile southwest of Bertrand and dime-size hail fell four miles south of Bertrand.
May 1993HailBertrand-Dime-size hail and strong winds were stripping leaves from trees.
June 2022HailBertrand-no account filed
July 2019HailBertrand-no account filed
May 2013HailBertrand-no account filed
September 2013FloodBertrand-no account filed
April 2012HailBertrand-no account filed
May 2012HailBertrand-no account filed
May 2012HailBertrand-no account filed
August 2010HailBertrand-no account filed
August 2009HailBertrand-no account filed
May 2007HailBertrand-no account filed
August 2007HailBertrand-no account filed
August 2007HailBertrand-no account filed
May 2005HailBertrand-no account filed
September 2005HailBertrand-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindBertrand-no account filed
July 2003HailBertrand-no account filed
May 2003HailBertrand-no account filed
May 2000Thunderstorm WindBertrand-no account filed
June 2000HailBertrand-no account filed
June 2000HailBertrand-no account filed
June 2000HailBertrand-no account filed
April 1999HailBertrand-no account filed
June 1994HailBertrand-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Phelps 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
Westmark7.4 miles16
Loomis7.5 miles13
Clyde13.8 miles13
Atlanta13.9 miles13
Holdrege15.2 miles13
Sacramento20.7 miles13
Funk20.9 miles13

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 BertrandAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3291419The 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 827352. 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.