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Bushnell, Nebraska

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Bushnell precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69128. The Survey maps it on the Bushnell quadrangle. 115 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,872 feet above sea level.

Bushnell within Kimball County

Population over time

2 figures

Bushnell fell from 124 to 115 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
2010124
2020115-9 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 8 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

14 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Bushnell between 2004 and 2018, burning about 109 acres in total. 3 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 burning4
Natural3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Fireworks1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
23 September 2016Natural70 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
20 September 2010Natural2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
20 September 2010Natural15 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
10 September 2018Debris and open burning13 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
14 August 2007Railroad operations and maintenance2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
4 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
4 July 2007Fireworksunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
21 July 2008Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kimball County

Storms near this place

60 of 94 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bushnell in 94 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 59 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 11 tornado, 8 flash 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 1997Flash FloodBushnell$1,000,000A series of thunderstorms produced in excess of 7.5 inches of rain over parts of western Kimball County during a 5-hour time frame. Flooding occurred along Lodgepole Creek from Bushnell east to the county line.
June 2010Flash FloodBushnell$10,000County roads washed out from heavy rainfall just south of town.
May 2010Flash FloodBushnell$2,000Two draws that flowed into Lodgepole Creek were flooded and flowing rapidly. Some damage to the banks of Interstate 80 near the Wyoming and Nebraska state line showed a lot of erosion.
March 2025HailBushnell-A trained spotter just east of Pine Bluffs and the Nebraska and Wyoming border reported 1 inch diameter hail along Interstate 80.
June 2025Tornado (EF0)Bushnell-Brief tornado touched down in a field, verified by photos and timing estimated with radar. Damage to a center pivot irrigation system.
June 2025HailBushnell-Trained spotter reports ping pong ball size hail southwest of Kimball Nebraska.
June 2025HailBushnell-Public reports quarter size hail.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBushnell-AWOS station K1EW located 6 miles southeast of Pine Bluffs Wyoming reported this wind gust.
August 2024HailBushnell-Trained storm spotter reported golf ball sized hail at this location. Delayed report, so time estimated from radar.
May 2023Tornado (EFU)Bushnell-Trained weather spotters observed a brief tornado approximately 3 miles NW of Bushnell.
May 2023HailBushnell-An Emergency Management Official reported quarter sized hail approximately 3 miles south of Bushnell.
June 2023HailBushnell-Quarter sized hail was reported 11 miles NW of Bushnell.
July 2020HailBushnell-Report of 49 MPH wind gusts recorded at 335 PM.
July 2020HailBushnell-Observer measured using handheld device wind gusts up to 50 mph as well.
August 2018HailBushnell-Quarter size hail covered the ground southeast of Bushnell.
June 2017Tornado (EF1)Bushnell-A brief tornado touched down along County Road 17 approximately 9 miles north of Bushnell, NE. A roof of an old barn was torn off and exterior walls collapsed (DI 1, DOD 6). An auger cart and auger were tipped. Power poles broke near the farm.
August 2017HailBushnell-Quarter size hail was observed south of Bushnell.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindBushnell-An estimated wind gust of 60 mph was reported at Bushnell.
June 2016Flash FloodBushnell-One to two inches of rain in an hour produced flash flooding. County officials reported several county roads flooded south of Bushnell.
September 2016HailBushnell-Dime to quarter size hail covered the ground near Panorama Point.
August 2016Heavy RainBushnell-Two and a half inches of rain was reported at Bushnell.
August 2016Flash FloodBushnell-Flash flooding was reported at Bushnell, Kimball and Dix.
July 2016HailBushnell-Quarter size hail was reported four miles east of Panorama Point.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBushnell-Estimated 75 mph wind gusts five miles south of Bushnell damaged or destroyed several outbuildings. A home sustained heavy wind damage.
July 2016HailBushnell-Golf ball size hail heavily damaged a home two miles southeast of Bushnell.
May 2014HailBushnell-Quarter size hail was observed north of Bushnell.
May 2014HailBushnell-Quarter size hail was reported in Bushnell.
July 2014HailBushnell-Quarter size hail was reported north of Bushnell.
May 2014HailBushnell-Penny to quarter size hail was reported south of Bushnell.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindBushnell-Winds were estimated at 55 to 60 mph south of Bushnell.
June 2014HailBushnell-Ping pong ball size hail was reported east of Bushnell along US Highway 30.
June 2014HailBushnell-Quarter size hail was observed 10 miles east of Panorama Point.
June 2014Tornado (EF0)Bushnell-A small tornado touched down about seven miles south of Bushnell. It was on the ground for five minutes before it lifted. No damage as reported.
August 2013HailBushnell-Quarter size hail was reported west of Bushnell.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindBushnell-Estimated wind gusts of 75 mph were reported west of Bushnell.
June 2013HailBushnell-Dime to quarter size hail was reported four miles west of the Oliver Reservoir.
July 2012Flash FloodBushnell-County Road 13 was washed out through the intersection of County Road 54.
May 2012HailBushnell-There were numerous reports of golf ball to baseball sized hail in Bushnell.
June 2011Flash FloodBushnell-County Roads 6, 8 and 11 all were flooded.
August 2011Tornado (EF0)Bushnell-An EF0 tornado touched down a few miles southeast of Bushnell between County Roads 20 and 30. No damage was reported.
July 2010Tornado (EF0)Bushnell-Spotter reported tornado on ground for about 30 seconds before lifting back up into wall cloud.
July 2010Tornado (EF0)Bushnell-Small tornado reported roughly 7 miles southeast of Pine Bluffs Wyoming.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Bushnell-Brief touchdown. No damage reported.
May 2008Tornado (EF0)Bushnell-Tornado tracked a short distance over open country.
August 2007HailBushnell-Hail from 0.75 to 1.75 inches in diameter reported.
June 2004Tornado (F0)Bushnell-Small tornado over open country.
August 2003HailBushnell-Substantial amount of mainly small hail fell northwest of Bushnell, NE, with some damagereported in field of millet and field of sunflowers. Hail reported to have drifted 2-3 feet deepin a few places.
May 1999HailBushnell-3/4 inch hail accumulated up to two inches deep on highway 30 near Pine Bluffs, WY
May 1998Tornado (F0)Bushnell-A tornado was reported by spotters which was on the ground for less than a minute, then dissipated.
July 1998Flash FloodBushnell-Thunderstorms produced 1 to 2 inches of rainfall 7.5 miles south of Bushnell. County road 17 was closed in this area due to the flood waters.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBushnell-Gustnado 1SW of Bushnell I-80 interchange
July 1994HailBushnell-A United States Air Force missile site received limited damage from strong winds and large hail.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindBushnell-A United States Air Force missile site received limited damage from strong winds and large hail.
May 2023HailBushnell-no account filed
July 2021HailBushnell-no account filed
July 2020HailBushnell-no account filed
May 2020HailBushnell-no account filed
June 2019HailBushnell-no account filed
June 2018HailBushnell-no account filed
June 2018HailBushnell-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kimball 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
Oliver5.5 miles8
Stahlas North Court11.8 miles8
Kimball12.1 miles8
Owasco16.8 miles8
Dix21.5 miles8
Jacinto25.9 miles8

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 BushnellAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2797437The 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 827814. 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.