BlockBefore

Leigh, Nebraska

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Stanton precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68643. The Survey maps it on the Leigh quadrangle. 435 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,604 feet above sea level.

Leigh within Colfax County

Population over time

2 figures

Leigh grew from 405 to 435 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
2010405
2020435+30 (+7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 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

4 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Leigh between 2005 and 2012, burning about 6 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/undetermined1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Debris and open burning1
Fireworks1

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
7 July 2009Fireworks1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
30 April 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
8 March 2012Debris and open burning3.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
3 March 2007Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Colfax County

Storms near this place

29 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Leigh in 29 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 17 hail, 5 flash flood, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 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
June 2010FloodLeigh$1,500,000Heavy rain from roughly June 7th into the 14th produced prolonged flooding along Shell Creek and its tributaries from near Lindsay in Platte county downstream to around Schuyler in Colfax county. The high water flooded many county roads and forced the closure of Highway 15 north of Schuyler for a while. Shell Creek or one of its tributaries also flooded sections of northeast Schuyler prompting homes and businesses to sandbag to try to limit the damage. Nonetheless, some damage to about 200 homes and businesses occurred anyway, mostly to basements. Damage was also noted to county roads and crops because of the prolonged period of high water. Emergency management reported that at one time as many as 40 county roads and 40 bridges were under water in the county. Shell Creek near Columbus crested around 21.6 feet for a prolonged period from late morning on June 12th until early morning on the 13th. Flood stage is 20 feet. The creek near Columbus was above flood stage from the evening of June 11th until the late afternoon hours of June 14th, although flooding probably lasted longer than the 14th downstream of the gauge in Colfax county.
May 2024Flash FloodLeigh$10,000This is a continuation of the flash flood that occurred in Platte County. The office received a report from the public that county roads in far northwest Colfax County were impassable due to water. 6 inches of rain had already fallen with rain continuing at the time of the report.
April 2024Funnel CloudLeigh-The Colfax County EM reported multiple funnel clouds in the Leigh area.
May 2024Tornado (EF1)Leigh-This is a continuation of the EF-1 tornado from Platte County. After moving into Colfax County, the roof of a large livestock barn was damaged, producing EF-1 damage. The tornado dissipated in an agricultural field about 5.5 miles southeast of Leigh. The peak winds and width of the tornado in this segment were 107 miles per hour and 250 yards respectively. The average width was estimated to be 100 yards for this segment as well.
June 2024HailLeigh-The office received a public report of quarter sized hail.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindLeigh-A 58 miles per hour wind gust was measured by a personal weather station.
July 2023HailLeigh-Public reported 1.75-inch hail.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindLeigh-Trained spotter reported 60 mph winds.
May 2021HailLeigh-Trained spotter reported 1 inch hail.
October 2020HailLeigh-Public reported 1.75 inch hail.
October 2020HailLeigh-Trained spotter reported 1.75 inch hail.
September 2016Flash FloodLeigh-The emergency manager indicated that in excess of 6 inches of rainfall had fallen over the northern half of the county. This had inundated many county roadways, damaged several bridges and culverts.
April 2015HailLeigh-The public via social media shared pictures of hail up to golf ball size that shattered windows and tore screens off the south side of the home.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindLeigh-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 70 mph caused considerable tree damage in the Leigh area. The fallen trees caused scattered vehicle and house damage and also knocked power out to the area.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindLeigh-Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph downed trees and power lines near Leigh and caused roof damage to several homes in the area.
July 2008HailLeigh-The second storm to produce hail in the area during the morning.
April 2003Flash FloodLeigh-Heavy rainfall flooded roads around Leigh and near Maple Creek around Howells. Some flooding was also reported in Howells where 5.5 inches of rain was reported over that night.
May 2003Flash FloodLeigh-Heavy thunderstorm rains, which Doppler Radar estimated to be around 2 to 3 inches in several hours, caused flash flooding across northern Colfax county from near Leigh to near Howells. The water flooded several county roads in this area including a section of highway 15 north of Schuyler.
July 1997Flash FloodLeigh-Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in a short time flooded many county roads.
May 2018HailLeigh-no account filed
May 2018HailLeigh-no account filed
April 2015HailLeigh-no account filed
August 2013HailLeigh-no account filed
June 2008HailLeigh-no account filed
March 2006HailLeigh-no account filed
June 2006HailLeigh-no account filed
May 2004HailLeigh-no account filed
May 2003HailLeigh-no account filed
September 2001HailLeigh-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Colfax 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
Clarkson6.3 miles8
Heun11.7 miles8
Howells12.5 miles8
Olean15.7 miles8
Richland18.7 miles11
Sunset Acres19.4 miles11
Schuyler20.2 miles11
Rogers23.8 miles11

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 LeighAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3042689The 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 830670. 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.