BlockBefore

Laurel, Nebraska

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Precinct 21. It lies in ZIP code area 68745. It stands on Perrin Creek. The Survey maps it on the Laurel quadrangle. 972 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,476 feet above sea level.

Laurel within Cedar County

Population over time

2 figures

Laurel grew from 964 to 972 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
2010964
2020972+8 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 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

5 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Laurel between 2001 and 2015, burning about 15 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined3
Smoking1
Natural1

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
3 July 2003Naturalunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 April 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
19 March 2015Smokingunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
1 November 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
26 January 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Every fire recorded in Cedar County

Storms near this place

35 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Laurel in 35 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 17 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 lightning. 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
June 2014Tornado (EF2)Laurel$250,000This was the final tornado in the Cedar County event. This tornado initially moved southwest while increasing in intensity and width. The tornado produced the most significant damage as it turned south along 573rd Ave where the tornado impacted a farm where outbuildings were completely destroyed. The tornado continued south crossing United States Highway 20. The tornado started to turn southeast about 1.5 miles northeast of Laurel. The tornado continued southeast producing mainly tree and power line damage before crossing into Dixon County near 869th Road. The complete track of the tornado was 8.04 miles.
June 2014Tornado (EF2)Laurel$50,000This short-lived tornado traveled to the east and impacted two farmsteads along 873rd Road. One of these farms had significant damage where large portions of the roof of the home were removed and outbuildings were completely destroyed.
July 1996LightningLaurel$30,000no account filed
June 2014Tornado (EF1)Laurel$25,000This was the first of 3 tornadoes that developed to the north of the Laurel area. This tornado was a large multi-vortex tornado. Video from storm chasers indicate that the tornado had vorticities that moved in varying directions, but the overall movement of the tornado was to the west southwest at a very slow pace. Although the tornado circulation was large, the slow movement of the tornado limited the potential damage. This included tree limbs and power poles, but one farmstead was impacted along Highway 15 where the house lost part of the roof and outbuildings were heavily damaged.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Emergency management report of irrigation flipped two miles south of Laurel along with power lines down in that area. Time estimated with radar.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindLaurel-The office received a photo on social media of tree damage. The time was estimated from radar.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Emergency management reported numerous tree limbs blown down in the town of Laurel.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Emergency manager reported the roof blown off of a machine shed.
March 2019FloodLaurel-Logan Creek is out of its banks.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph downed numerous large tree limbs in town. The time was estimated based on radar and surrounding reports.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph downed numerous tree branches and a few trees in town.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph blew a small tree down east southeast of Coleridge.
June 2005HailLaurel-Hail up to golfball size fell from north of Laurel into town. The hail was accompanied by thunderstorm wind gusts that were estimated at 70 mph.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 mph were accompanied by hail up to golfball size near Laurel.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph broke branches off of trees in Laurel.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph downed trees and power lines in Laurel.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindLaurel-Thunderstorm winds downed large tree limbs.
July 2000HailLaurel-The hail also damaged some crops a little farther to the south.
May 2015HailLaurel-no account filed
June 2014HailLaurel-no account filed
May 2011HailLaurel-no account filed
June 2008HailLaurel-no account filed
June 2008HailLaurel-no account filed
June 2007HailLaurel-no account filed
March 2006HailLaurel-no account filed
March 2006HailLaurel-no account filed
June 2005HailLaurel-no account filed
May 2003HailLaurel-no account filed
July 2002HailLaurel-no account filed
April 2001HailLaurel-no account filed
April 2001HailLaurel-no account filed
June 2001HailLaurel-no account filed
April 1998HailLaurel-no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindLaurel-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindLaurel-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cedar 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
Belden6.3 miles9
Coleridge8.0 miles9
Randolph14.6 miles9
Hartington16.2 miles9
Obert18.3 miles10
Magnet20.2 miles9
Bow Valley21.4 miles9
Saint James21.5 miles9

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 LaurelAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q966374The 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 830637. 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.