Merriman, Nebraska
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Merriman precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69218. It stands on Dry Creek. The Survey maps it on the Merriman quadrangle. 87 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,255 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresMerriman fell from 128 to 87 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 | 128 | |
| 2020 | 87 | -41 (-32%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 9 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.
- 1951 USGS Merriman quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Cody quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Merriman quadrangle1:24000
- 1994 USGS Cody quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
5 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Merriman in 2007, burning about 1,611 acres in total. 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 3 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 August 2007 | Natural | 1,000 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 10 August 2007 | Natural | 100 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 10 August 2007 | Natural | 500 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 29 June 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 22 October 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Storms near this place
60 of 197 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Merriman in 197 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 150 hail, 36 thunderstorm wind, 10 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Merriman | $115,000 | A tornado touched down 2 miles southeast of Merriman and moved southeast to 7 miles south of Eli before lifting. Trees were uprooted and windows were broken out of a house. Extensive damage was done to popcorn crops and alfalfa hay fields. Nine center pivot irrigation systems were destroyed. A stretch of power lines was snapped off along highway 20 and also along a road south of Eli as the tornado moved southeast. |
| June 2006 | Tornado (F1) | Merriman | $100,000 | A supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado that touched down over an open field approximately 1/4 mile to the southeast of a farmstead. As the tornado moved northeast, it destroyed a shed used for storing agricultural machinery, damaged a horse trailer, and snapped off several power poles. The tornado continued moving northeast across another open field before hitting another farmstead where it rolled a moble home, lifted a two-story 2 car garage and dropped it 20 feet north of its foundation totalling the pickup truck in the garage. The tornado also snapped off numerous trees in a shelter belt to the north of the farmstead and several power poles. Seconds before the tornado hit, the male occupant of the home took shelter in a concrete shed to the west of the home. |
| July 1997 | Hail | Merriman | $100,000 | Thunderstorm winds and hail broke windshields and blew large tree limbs down. |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF0) | Merriman | $60,000 | At 1728MST, a tornado briefly touched down near Mile Marker 194 on Highway 61. A semi truck and trailer was overturned and a car was blown off the road. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph and the tornado rated and EF-0. Maximum path width was 40 yards. |
| June 1999 | Tornado (F1) | Merriman | $50,000 | A tornado destroyed several windmills and damaged trees. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Merriman | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Hail | Merriman | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Merriman | $20,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Merriman | $20,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Merriman | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Merriman | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Merriman | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Merriman | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Merriman | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Merriman | $15,000 | Half dollar sized hail broke numerous west facing windows and damaged siding on a house. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | $15,000 | Siding on a house was damaged and windows were broken. Several large tree limbs were down. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | $10,000 | Wind driven hail knocked windows out of a home and damaged pasture land. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | $10,000 | A full grown pine tree was uprooted and fell on a house. A small shed was destroyed with pieces littered across the yard. |
| July 1998 | Hail | Merriman | $10,000 | Extensive tree damage due to thunderstorm winds. Tree blown onto roof of house. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Merriman | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Merriman | $8,000 | Vehicles sustained window and body damage. |
| August 2002 | Hail | Merriman | $8,000 | Windows were shattered on the State Department of Roads and County Roads Department buildings. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | $5,000 | Large tree branches blown down. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Merriman | $5,000 | Large tree limbs blown down |
| July 2009 | Hail | Merriman | $4,000 | Trained storm spotters reported large hail along with 50 mph winds and heavy rain. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | $4,000 | Thunderstorm wind of around 80 mph caused extensive tree damage in Merriman. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Merriman | $4,000 | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Merriman | $4,000 | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Merriman | $4,000 | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Merriman | $4,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Merriman | $4,000 | no account filed |
| September 1999 | Hail | Merriman | $4,000 | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Hail | Merriman | $3,000 | Several windows were broken at a farmstead east of Merriman. |
| April 2005 | Hail | Merriman | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Merriman | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Merriman | $2,000 | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Merriman | $1,000 | Hail covered the ground. |
| April 2007 | Hail | Merriman | $1,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Merriman | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Merriman | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Merriman | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Merriman | $250 | The tornado initially touched down just west of Morgan Lake and then moved north over a hill and encountered a ranch where it took off tops of trees and a door on a house. From there, it moved slightly northeast and lifted just south of the Snake River. |
| September 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts up to 60 MPH, reported by a trained spotter at this location. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Merriman | - | Pea to half dollar sized hail reported in Merriman by a trained spotter. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated at 70 MPH were reported at this location. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Merriman | - | Trained spotter reported heavy rain along with nickel sized hail. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Merriman | - | Trained spotter reports quarter size hail in Merriman. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Merriman | - | Public reported quarter size hail south of Merriman. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Merriman | - | Public reported hail up to half dollar size hail south of Merriman. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Merriman | - | Motorist reported a cracked windshield. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at 60 MPH at this location. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Merriman | - | Public reported golf ball size hail southeast of Merriman. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | - | Public reported a power pole snapped from the wind, along Highway 20 near Merriman. Picture was provided. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Merriman | - | A trained weather spotter reported golf ball size hail northwest of Merriman. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Merriman | - | A trained weather spotter reported hail to two inches in diameter northwest of Merriman. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Merriman | - | Public reported two inch diameter hail in Merriman. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | - | Four inch diameter tree limbs knocked down along with dime sized hail. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | - | Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriman | - | Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts. |
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 Merriman | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2368653 | 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 831236. 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.





