BlockBefore

Dickens, Nebraska

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1979. It stands in Wallace precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69132. The Survey maps it on the Dickens quadrangle. It stands 3,136 feet above sea level.

Dickens within Lincoln County

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

12 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Dickens between 1999 and 2012, burning about 7,181 acres in total. 2 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
Equipment and vehicle use3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Natural2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Debris and open burning1

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
5 September 2011Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
9 July 2012Natural2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
6 July 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
12 July 2012Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
11 July 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution4.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
3 June 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
30 May 2012Natural25 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
15 March 2008Railroad operations and maintenance20 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lincoln County

Storms near this place

43 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dickens in 43 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 28 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 3 tornado. 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 2007Flash FloodDickens$400,000Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall of 2 to 6 inches across southeast Lincoln County. Houses north of the railroad tracks in Maxwell flooded with 2 1/2 feet of water. Small mudslides onto the railroad tracks occurred at the Newberry Access overpass in North Platte. Highways 23, 25 and 83 were under water in several locations. Numerous secondary roads were severely damaged due to water over the roads.
June 2025Tornado (EF2)Dickens$140,000Tornado developed and tracked approximately 3 miles to the south where it dissipated almost 45 minutes later. Along the tornado path, numerous power poles were snapped, a center pivot was overturned, and severe tree damage was reported to shelterbelts.
July 2007Flash FloodDickens$75,000A large slow moving thunderstorm produced 3 to 6 inches of rainfall. The rainfall drained into canyons in southeast Lincoln County causing flash flooding with roads under water in several locations.
June 2015HailDickens$70,000Softball size hail put holes in roof and living room ceiling. All vehicles sustained significant damage.
September 2010Flash FloodDickens$60,000Heavy rainfall cause county road damage six miles north of Wellfleet on Nelson road and in the Medicine Canyon. Standing water covered several roads and caused washouts. The heavy rainfall also caused road damage 11 miles south of Maxwell at the junction of South Cottonwood Canyon road and South Effenbeck road.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindDickens$30,000Thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated at 80 MPH, overturned two towers of a center pivot irrigation system. Time estimated by radar.
June 2011HailDickens$10,000General public reported largest hail slightly larger than golf ball. Extensive damage occurred with all windows destroyed as well as significant crop damage.
June 2015HailDickens$10,000no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindDickens$5,000A house antenna was damaged by the thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2005HailDickens$5,000no account filed
June 2016HailDickens$3,000Windows on the north side of the house broken out.
June 2025Tornado (EF1)Dickens-Tornado touched down and crossed highway 23 before lifting. Large branches were broken where the tornado initially touched down. As the tornado tracked to the west-southwest, it snapped several hardwood trees in a shelterbelt before dissipating.
May 2021HailDickens-Quarter sized hail reported at this location.
July 2020HailDickens-Public reported quarter size hail southwest of Dickens.
June 2019HailDickens-Hail lasted for 10 to 15 minutes. Time estimated from radar.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindDickens-Thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 60 MPH.
July 2015HailDickens-In addition to ping pong ball sized hail, wind gusts of 50 MPH were reported at this location.
August 2013LightningDickens-Lightning ignited a wildfire near 1.5 miles east of Dickens that burned pasture land.
April 2012Tornado (EF0)Dickens-A rope tornado briefly touched down in open rangeland with no damage reported.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindDickens-A farmer reported tree branches of 5 to 6 inches in diameter broken.
July 2008HailDickens-The hail, along with 70 mph winds severely damaged corn crops.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindDickens-no account filed
June 2025HailDickens-no account filed
August 2025HailDickens-no account filed
July 2025HailDickens-no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindDickens-no account filed
June 2022HailDickens-no account filed
August 2020HailDickens-no account filed
May 2019HailDickens-no account filed
September 2019HailDickens-no account filed
June 2015HailDickens-no account filed
May 2014HailDickens-no account filed
June 2014HailDickens-no account filed
May 2012HailDickens-no account filed
May 2012HailDickens-no account filed
April 2012HailDickens-no account filed
March 2012HailDickens-no account filed
June 2008HailDickens-no account filed
April 2008HailDickens-no account filed
May 2003Thunderstorm WindDickens-no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindDickens-no account filed
June 1996HailDickens-no account filed
May 1996HailDickens-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lincoln 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
Somerset7.0 miles7
Wallace9.2 miles7
Wellfleet14.8 miles9
Hershey22.9 miles14
Key Estates23.3 miles14
Birdwood23.3 miles13
O'Fallons23.5 miles14
North Platte23.8 miles14

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 DickensAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5273608The 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 835287. 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.