Howells, Nebraska
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Lincoln precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68641. The Survey maps it on the Clarkson quadrangle. 561 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,460 feet above sea level.
On record in Howells
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 1 record
- Baumert & Bognerlisted 2022
Population over time
2 figuresHowells grew from 561 to 561 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 | 561 | |
| 2020 | 561 | 0 (0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 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.
- 1955 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS Clarkson quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Stanton quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
9 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Howells between 2002 and 2019, burning about 123 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 15 June 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 26 April 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 28 March 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 20 December 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 16 November 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 October 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 3 October 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
48 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howells in 48 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 20 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado, 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Howells | $20,000 | Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches fell in an hour or so producing flash flooding along Maple Creek and it's tributaries near and north of Howells. Water covered 4th Street and both approaches over Maple Creek near town. The rain fell on saturated soils due to heavy rain that fell earlier in the week. Damage from this flooding consisted mainly of gravel washed off county roads and some crop damage. |
| June 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Howells | $20,000 | no account filed |
| April 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Howells | - | Detailed reports from a combination of emergency management, eyewitnesses, and video evidence from storm spotters indicate this as the path of the tornado. Eyewitness accounts indicate that the final 1.5 miles of the track were intermittent, with occasional debris and dust at the ground level. These reports also indicate that the tornado began at 1:39 PM and lasted for approximately 10 minutes, which aligns well with the storm's motion. There were at least 2 center pivots damaged along the track and some minor damage to small outbuildings where tin roofing material was removed. These damage indicators and the degree of damage indicate that the tornado was an EF-0 with maximum winds of approximately 75 mph. Video evidence of the dust field suggests a width of approximately 40 yards. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | A severe wind gust was measured on a personal weather station sometime between 545 and 600 am in the morning. The time was estimated based on radar. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | A severe wind gust was measured on a personal weather station sometime between 555 and 600 am in the morning. The time was estimated based on radar. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Howells | - | This tornado developed 3 miles southwest of Howells, where it damaged a grain bin and flipped a center pivot. It moved northeast across agricultural fields between County Road T and County Road U. As it crossed County Road 14 it snapped several wood power poles. The tornado continued tracking northeast crossing near the intersection of County Road 15 and County Road V, about 1.5 miles southeast of Howells. The tornado's width varied from from one-tenth to one-third of mile along its track. Straight line wind damage from the descending rear inflow jet was found south of the track. Peak estimated winds for this tornado were at 100 miles per hour. The maximum width was measured at 400 yards, with an average width estimated at 150 yards. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | A 60 miles per hour wind gust was recorded on a personal weather station. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | Trained spotter reported a measured peak wind gust of 78 mph. |
| July 2023 | Tornado (EF1) | Howells | - | A likely tornado embedded within a broader area of downburst winds appears to have impacted homes and trees on the west side of Howells, causing roof damage and shifting the walls of a garage. Beyond this area, it was difficult to discern any particular tornado damage from straight line wind damage, but there was additional damage to trees, fences, and a power substation on the south side of Howells as well. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | COOP Observer measaured a peak wind gust of 62 mph. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | Emergency manager reported a partial roof blown off. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | Trained spotter measured a peak wind gust of 71 mph. |
| December 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Howells | - | An intermittent tornado tracked from south to north through Howells. The initial damage point was roof damage to a home on the south side of town along with moderate tree damage. The tornado then skipped several blocks before removing a portion of the building attached to the feed and seed. Nearby security cameras provided video evidence of the brief tornadic circulation on the north side of town. The tornado remained intermittent as it travelled into an open field to the northeast, depositing debris in the field. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | Multiple reports from the public of 60 mph gusts in Howells. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Howells | - | Maple Creek is out of its banks with lowland flooding in Howells. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | An estimated 70 mph thunderstorm wind gust was reported in Howells. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Howells | - | Quarter size hail was reported about 4 1/2 miles southwest of Howells. |
| September 2017 | Hail | Howells | - | Penny size hail was reported just south of Howells. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Howells | - | Hail up to quarter-size fell a little south of Howells. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts of 85 mph were measured by the cooperative observer near Howells. |
| July 2008 | Hail | Howells | - | The storms also dropped around 4 inches of rain in the area. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | A thunderstorm wind gust of 75 mph was measured on home weather equipment by a storm spotter. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Howells | - | Hail up to golfball size fell for a few minutes in Howells. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph downed a few trees in the Howells area. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | The Emergency Manager for Colfax county reported thunderstorm winds blew down farm buildings southeast of Howells. |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | A cooperative observer in Howells reported thunderstorm wind gusts measured at 58 mph by home wind equipment. The winds downed a few trees in town. |
| May 2001 | Hail | Howells | - | Hail lasted for around 11 minutes at the junction of highways 15 and 91. There was quite a bit of hail with this event, with the largest around golfball size. |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F1) | Howells | - | Two farm houses destroyed. Eight farm houses damaged. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howells | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Funnel Cloud | Howells | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Hail | Howells | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Flash Flood | Howells | - | 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.
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 Howells | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q963066 | 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 830177. 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.




