Falls City, Nebraska
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Falls City precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68355. The Survey maps it on the Falls City quadrangle. 4,133 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,010 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Falls City
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 4 records
Gehling's Theatrelisted 1988
Richardson County Courthouselisted 1990
Gov. Arthur J. Weaver Houselisted 2005- Falls City Commercial Historic Districtlisted 2013
Population over time
2 figuresFalls City fell from 4,325 to 4,133 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 4,325 | |
| 2020 | 4,133 | -192 (-4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 12 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1915 USGS Falls City quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Nebraska City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Nebraska City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Nebraska City quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Falls City quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Falls City quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
25 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 25 fires within 5 miles of Falls City between 2008 and 2020, burning about 150 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 burning | 15 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 August 2008 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 11 August 2008 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 21 July 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 7 June 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 June 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 13 June 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 9 April 2010 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 18 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
53 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Falls City in 53 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 23 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | $1,500,000 | A swath of destructive straight line winds impacted portions of southeast Richardson County including Falls City. The Falls City ASOS measured a 91 miles per hour wind gust at 1:09 pm CDT, and again at 1:12 pm CDT. The ASOS lost power and stopped transmitting data at 1:15 pm CDT. Widespread tree damage was reported across Falls City with snow plows assisting in the removal of tree debris. Trees went through the roofs of two homes, and an additional house had a wall blown down as reported by law enforcement. A large factory in town lost approximately 3 to 4 thousand square feet of its roof. Powerlines were down across the southeast portion of the county, debris was strewn out across fields, and a school bus was reported to have been moved by the wind. |
| May 2006 | Lightning | Falls City | $75,000 | Lightning struck a tree next to a house and then traveled into the house and set in on fire. By the time firefighters arrived the house was completely in flames. The house and all of its contents were destroyed. There was nobody home at the time and no injuries were reported. |
| April 1999 | Tornado (F0) | Falls City | $8,000 | Brief touchdown downed a few power poles and outbuildings. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | $2,000 | Damage to shed roof. |
| May 2011 | Flash Flood | Falls City | $1,000 | Two to three inches of rain fell over much of Richardson county over several hours during the afternoon/early evening of 5/25...2.29 inches was measured at Falls City. The heavy rain caused flash flooding for a few hours across Pony Creek Road south of Falls City causing its brief closure. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Falls City | $1,000 | Rainfall of around 2 inches in an hour or so caused flooding across Highway 73 north of Falls City closing it for a while this evening. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Falls City | - | Trained spotter report of hail estimated up to 1 inch in diameter in Falls City, NE. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | The Falls City ASOS recorded a 58 mile per hour wind gust. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Falls City | - | A trained spotter reported quarter sized hail which fell for a few minutes. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Falls City ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Falls City ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Falls City | - | NWS Employee reported 1-inch hail. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Falls City | - | Quarter sized hail. |
| May 2019 | Heavy Rain | Falls City | - | Observers reporting 5 to 7 inches of rain across the county. |
| August 2019 | Hail | Falls City | - | The public reported one inch hail. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | A person estimated 60 mph winds with pea size hail in Falls City. |
| April 2014 | Hail | Falls City | - | The spotter indicated the hail lasted for 5 minutes. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 70 mph tipped over a farm outbuilding and ripped tin from buildings in the area. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Several trees and power lines were blown down. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | A wind gust to 58 mph was measured by the Falls City ASOS equipment. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Falls City | - | Reported on the west side of Falls City. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Two trees and some large tree limbs were blown down in the Falls City area from thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Thunderstorm winds gusted over 60 mph for about 20 minutes in the Falls City area. Gusts of 64 to 70 mph were measured by the Asos at Falls City for this period. Tree damage was noted across town. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | The Asos at the Falls City airport measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 59 mph. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Falls City | - | The hail lasted for around 5 minutes. |
| March 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | A thunderstorm wind gust was measured at 59 mph by Asos at the Falls City airport. The winds caused damage to a hanger door. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Falls City | - | Hail up to golf ball-size was reported from southwest of Falls City into town. Many vehicles in town sustained hail damage, some substantially, along with roofs and sidings of homes. The hail was from a multi-updraft supercell thunderstorm that moved across the area that afternoon. |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Falls City | - | Heavy rain, for the second night in a row, caused flash flooding along Big Muddy Creek north of Falls City. The flooding closed Highway 73 for an hour or so. Damage along Highway 73 was minimal. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Falls City | - | Hail up to quarter-size fell for at least several minutes in the Falls City area. |
| September 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | A thunderstorm wind gust was measured at 59 mph by the Falls City Asos. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph ripped the roof off of a cabin and scattered the debris across a park near Stanton Lake. |
| July 2004 | Hail | Falls City | - | Dime to nickel size hail fell in Falls City for a little over 5 minutes. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | A severe thunderstorm produced a measured wind gust of 66 mph at the Falls City Airport, and the Richardson County Emergency Manager recorded an unofficial wind gust of 80 mph with their monitoring equipment. The storm produced extensive tree damage throughout Falls City, and tore the roof off a local hardware store. |
| July 2001 | Flash Flood | Falls City | - | Heavy rain caused flooding of county roads near Falls City. |
| July 2001 | Flash Flood | Falls City | - | Heavy rainfall in Richardson county, radar estimated over 3 inches in some locations, caused flash flooding along Walnut Creek southeast of Falls City. The flood waters affected mainly rural lowlands but did flood a county road near town. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage south of Falls City. |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | Thunderstorm gust downed power lines and did some tree limb and roof damage. |
| April 2017 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| April 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| March 2007 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| December 2006 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Falls City | - | no account filed |
| May 1997 | Hail | Falls City | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archer (historical) | 2.6 miles | 12 | |
| Straussville | 3.7 miles | 11 | |
| Preston Census Designated Place | 4.8 miles | 12 | |
| Preston | 4.8 miles | 12 | |
| Salem | 6.4 miles | 11 | |
| Verdon | 8.4 miles | 11 | |
| Arago (historical) | 9.1 miles | 14 | |
| Rulo | 9.3 miles | 13 |
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 Falls City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q968130 | The 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 829265. 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.





