Imperial, Nebraska
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1979. It stands in Imperial Rural precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69033. The Survey maps it on the Imperial quadrangle. 2,068 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,284 feet above sea level.
On record in Imperial
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 2 records
Balcony Houselisted 2000
Chase County Courthouselisted 1990
Population over time
2 figuresImperial fell from 2,071 to 2,068 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 | 2,071 | |
| 2020 | 2,068 | -3 (-0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 7 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.
- 1954 USGS McCook quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS McCook quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS McCook quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1973 USGS Imperial quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Imperial quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
16 since 2012Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Imperial between 2012 and 2020, burning about 969 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2014 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 17 September 2016 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 12 September 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 7 July 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 4 July 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 10 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 29 June 2016 | Fireworks | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 30 May 2012 | Natural | 43 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 150 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Imperial in 150 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 81 hail, 60 thunderstorm wind, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1997 | Hail | Imperial | $1,000,000 | Hail ranging in size from peas to tennis balls along with winds in excess of 60 mph damaged growing corn and personal property. |
| August 1997 | Hail | Imperial | $1,000,000 | Large hail and damaging winds estimated at 100 mph broke windows and tree limbs and damaged crops in the area. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $250,000 | Thunderstorm wind blew down power lines and damaged trees. |
| May 2019 | Tornado (EF1) | Imperial | $200,000 | The tornado touched down 7 miles northwest of Imperial and moved northeast 10 miles before dissipating northeast of Imperial. The tornado was intermittently on the ground, where it overturned or destroyed several center pivot irrigation systems in its path. The tornado was rated an EF1. |
| July 2011 | Lightning | Imperial | $100,000 | Lightning struck the Imperial substation where major damage occurred to one of the eight reclosers, or breakers in the substation. A lightning strike hit the city shop taking out the city's $8,000 load management system as well. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Imperial | $100,000 | A supercell storm that produced several tornadoes south and west of Champion also produced large hail at Imperial. The hail damaged several roofs of homes and numerous vehicle bodies. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $70,000 | Thunderstorm outflow winds ripped a patio roof off a home, destroyed one grain bin and damaged 3 others, broke off mature trees, and destroyed an electrical transformer cabinet. In addition, the wind picked up produce conveyor belts and threw them into employee's vehicles at a potato plant. |
| October 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $60,000 | Cooperative observer at Imperial reported extensive tree damage, an overturned pivot, hay bales blown across the highway and a power outage in downtown Imperial. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $50,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 80 MPH snapped power poles with building damage being reported in Imperial. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Imperial | $50,000 | The hailstorm began in northwest Chase County just north of Lamar and travelled through the county to Wauneta, passing along the south edge of Imperial. According to newspaper reports, damage estimates included 10,000 acres of wheat and 50,000 acres of corn. The wheat was a total loss while losses in corn were estimated to be 11 to 16 percent production decreases. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $40,000 | A thunderstorm moving along the Perkins County line destroyed a mobile home and a grain bin northwest and north of Imperial. It also caused some damage to about 16,000 acres of soybeans. The crop loss is estimated to be 10 to 20 percent.. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Imperial | $35,000 | Only a few of the hailstones were baseball size. The hail dented cars and damaged a few roofs. One hailstone actually went through the roof of a home on the northwest side of Imperial. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Imperial | $25,000 | Heavy rainfall occurred on already saturated ground causing additional flash flooding. Streets in Imperial were under water as approximately 2-3 more inches of rain fell in 4 hours. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Imperial | $25,000 | Golfball size hail caused damage to roofs, siding, windows, and gutters on homes in Imperial. A few vehicles also sustained minor body damage. The northwest section of town was the hardest hit. |
| May 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Imperial | $15,000 | Tornado briefly touched down, overturning a center pivot irrigation system. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Imperial | $15,000 | Marble to golfball size hail fell for 10 minutes. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Imperial | $15,000 | The large hail broke windows, poked holes in vinyl siding on homes, and destroyed gardens on the south side of Imperial. It also destroyed a half circle of potatoes and a field of corn to the southwest of Imperial. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $15,000 | Large tree limbs were broken and numerous business signs were damaged. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Imperial | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Hail | Imperial | $15,000 | no account filed |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $10,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated at 60 MPH, damaged a metal roof and an outbuilding. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $10,000 | High winds caused tree branches to be blown onto power lines, causing a power outage in Imperial. A 4 foot by 16 foot sign at Yost Farm Supply was blown down. Numerous highway signs were blown down with their posts broken. Power outages were also reported in Champion and Wauneta. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $10,000 | The very strong winds snapped off large trees, some of which fell on roofs of homes and on cars, and caused roof damage at the lumber yard. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Imperial | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds and golfball hail knocked down trees destroyed a hog shed and blew the roof off a trailer home. |
| August 2002 | Hail | Imperial | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $8,000 | Thunderstorm winds and golfball sized hail knocked down trees, destroyed a hog shed, and blew the roof off a trailer home. |
| August 2002 | Hail | Imperial | $8,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Flash Flood | Imperial | $5,000 | Law enforcement reports severe streets flooded in Imperial. |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $5,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 MPH tore two exhaust fans off of a business in Imperial. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Imperial | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Imperial | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Imperial | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Imperial | $3,000 | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $2,000 | Cooperative observer reported a power pole was broken in half in Imperial. Power outages continue for the city of Imperial. Power was also lost at the automated surface observing station at the Imperial Airport. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $2,000 | The outflow winds broke off a power pole on the west side of town and also numerous tree limbs. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Imperial | $2,000 | Thunderstorm winds and golfball sized hail knocked down trees, destroyed a hog shed, and blew the roof off a trailer home. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Imperial | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Imperial | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $1,000 | Power pole snapped. Winds estimated at 70 MPH. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $1,000 | Large tree snapped in half in Imperial. Winds estimated at 70 MPH. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds and golfball sized hail knocked down trees, destroyed a hog shed, and blew the roof off a trailer home. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds and golfball hail knocked down trees destroyed a hog shed and blew the roof off a trailer home. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Imperial Airport ASOS recorded a 59 mph wind gust. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Imperial Airport ASOS measured a 68 mph wind gust. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Wind gusts up to 60 MPH led to some power outages in Imperial. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Wind report form Imperial ASOS. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | KIML recorded a 64 mph wind gust. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | KIML measured a 59 mph wind gust. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Imperial | - | Public reported half dollar size hail north of Imperial. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Report of a 64 mph wind gust from the ASOS. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Wind speed measured with a portable weather station. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Measured by a portable mesonet 4 miles west of Imperial. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Wind gust were measured by automated weather observing system. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Wind gust were estimated at 60 mph. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Thunderstorm wind gust of 70 MPH reported at this location. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | No damage reported. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Thunderstorm wind gust of 67 MPH reported at the Imperial Airport. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Thunderstorm wind gust of 58 MPH occurred at the Imperial Airport. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Imperial | - | Cooperative observer estimated 60 MPH winds north of Imperial. |
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 Imperial | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q963439 | 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 830263. 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.




