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Johnson, Nebraska

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Washington precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68378. The Survey maps it on the Brock quadrangle. 309 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,240 feet above sea level.

Johnson within Nemaha County

Population over time

2 figures

Johnson fell from 328 to 309 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
2010328
2020309-19 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 10 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

6 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Johnson between 2003 and 2020, burning about 3 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 burning3
Equipment and vehicle use1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
9 April 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
3 April 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreBoyer Chute National Wildlife RefugeTRASH
7 March 2020Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
14 March 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
9 October 2010Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
17 October 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Nemaha County

Storms near this place

43 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Johnson in 43 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 22 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 4 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2025Thunderstorm WindJohnson$1,220,000A damaging wind event impacted Nemaha County, Nebraska, on the morning of August 10th, 2025, primarily affecting the northwest to north-central portion of the county. The severity of the storm was characterized by a single, significant damage report 4 miles southeast of Julian, where straight-line wind gusts were estimated as high as 95 miles per hour by Emergency Management. This high-end wind estimate was based on the destruction of a grain bin and a shed in the area.||Although only one report was officially documented in the county, the resulting damage was larger. The estimated cost for repairs to public infrastructure in Nemaha County was $1,224,827.00. This relatively high figure, derived from utility and transportation structure damage, suggests that while the most extreme winds were highly localized, they caused considerable, widespread harm to public assets along the storm's path, despite the lack of numerous individual storm reports.
April 2008Tornado (EF1)Johnson$100,000A tornado touched down on the southwest edge of Johnson near Chestnut and 1st Streets. The tornado moved northeast across town causing EF1 damage to several buildings in downtown Johnson along Main Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets. The tornado weakened as it approached the high school and then lifted around Walnut and 5th Streets.||Roofing material and the facade of several buildings were peeled or collapsed. Hardwood and softwood trees were snapped along the path and 2 garages were pushed off of their foundations. A building next to the fire station also had a large garage door blown in. No injuries were reported.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindJohnson$6,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph broke a 22 inch in diameter tree off and blew it through the roof of a trailer house.
August 2007Flash FloodJohnson$2,000Rainfall of around 2 inches in an hour caused a local creek to flood across some county roads southwest of Johnson. The rain was on top of 1 to 3 inches that fell about 12 to 18 hours prior.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindJohnson$2,000Thunderstorm winds knocked a 10 inch limb onto house and blew a small shed away. Corn was also flattened in the area.
April 2024HailJohnson-The office received a report from the Nemaha County EM of quarter sized hail.
April 2023HailJohnson-Public reported 2.5-inch hail.
May 2023HailJohnson-Emergency manager reported 2.75-inch hail.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Emergency manager reported 60 mph wind gusts.
May 2021HailJohnson-Public reported 1 inch hail.
June 2021HailJohnson-Public reported 1 inch hail.
October 2020Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Personal weather station measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
May 2019Flash FloodJohnson-Manhole covers were spewing water like fountains resulting in street flooding.
May 2015HailJohnson-The hail lasted for several minutes in the city of Johnson and ranged from 1 inch to 1.50 inches in diameter.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindJohnson-The storm survey found tree damage consistent with straight line winds in this area.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 70 mph uprooted 2 large trees and destroyed a small 10 by 10 foot Garage south of Johnson.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 70 mph downed large tree limbs in the area and caused some power poles to lean.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindJohnson-A spotter estimated that thunderstorm wind gusts of around 65 mph downed 2 to 3 inch diameter tree limbs.
June 2009HailJohnson-Golf ball-size hail was reported in Johnson by emergency management.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Thunderstorm winds were estimated by the public at between 60 and 70 mph. Some 2 to 3 inch diameter tree limbs were downed from the winds.
June 2008Tornado (EF1)Johnson-A supercell thunderstorm caused cyclic tornadic activity southwest of Johnson. As one tornado to the west was dissipating this one formed. Eyewitnesses stated they saw both tornadoes on the ground at the same time for a while. This tornado caused damage to several farmsteads southwest of Johnson. A barn was blown down at one farmstead and other farm outbuildings and trees sustained major damage along its track. Two houses also had some roof damage. This supercell thunderstorm then spun up a third tornado a mile southwest of Johnson after this tornado had lifted or dissipated.
June 2008Tornado (EF1)Johnson-A tornado destroyed caused tree and outbuilding damage to a farmstead about a mile southwest of Johnson. This was the 3rd tornado that formed from this supercell thunderstorm that tracked across the county. Even though the tornado lifted before it hit Johnson, wind from the storm knocked down power lines from near Johnson to Brock, which is several miles northeast of Johnson. The downed power lines caused the town of Brock to lose power.
June 2008Tornado (EF1)Johnson-A supercell thunderstorm caused cyclic tornadic activity southwest of Johnson. This tornado caused tree and farm outbuilding damage along its path. As this tornado was dissipating, another one formed to the east. Eyewitnesses stated they saw both tornadoes on the ground at the same time for a while. The supercell thunderstorm then spun up a third tornado a mile southwest of Johnson.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindJohnson-A spotter reported thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at between 60 and 70 mph severely damaged a siloh and destroyed a barn south of Johnson
August 2003Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph by emergency management downed trees in town.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindJohnson-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated by trained spotter.
June 2018Funnel CloudJohnson-no account filed
May 2015HailJohnson-no account filed
April 2012HailJohnson-no account filed
April 2012HailJohnson-no account filed
June 2010HailJohnson-no account filed
August 2007HailJohnson-no account filed
April 2006HailJohnson-no account filed
April 2006HailJohnson-no account filed
April 2005HailJohnson-no account filed
May 2004HailJohnson-no account filed
May 2003HailJohnson-no account filed
June 2003HailJohnson-no account filed
May 2002HailJohnson-no account filed
May 2002HailJohnson-no account filed
June 2000HailJohnson-no account filed
July 2000HailJohnson-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Nemaha 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
Rohrs3.7 miles10
Brock5.2 miles10
Glenrock6.1 miles10
Auburn8.5 miles10
Julian10.4 miles12
Howe11.3 miles10
Peru14.7 miles13
Nemaha17.9 miles13

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 JohnsonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3289030The 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 835482. 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.