BlockBefore

Nelson, Nebraska

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1898 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Nelson precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68961. The Survey maps it on the Nelson quadrangle. 456 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,699 feet above sea level.

Nelson within Nuckolls County

On record in Nelson

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

Population over time

2 figures

Nelson fell from 488 to 456 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
2010488
2020456-32 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 11 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

13 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Nelson between 2000 and 2020, burning about 744 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
Debris and open burning7
Equipment and vehicle use2
Smoking2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

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
21 August 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
7 June 2013Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
20 May 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
9 April 2011Debris and open burning1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
19 April 2008Debris and open burning3.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
8 March 2008Debris and open burning6.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 March 2011Debris and open burning20 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
6 February 2000Debris and open burning3.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Nuckolls County

Storms near this place

60 of 67 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Nelson in 67 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 30 thunderstorm wind, 24 hail, 8 heavy rain, 4 tornado. 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 2014Thunderstorm WindNelson$1,000,000A line of thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts up to 80 MPH moved across the county. In Nelson, trees were reported down, including one that fell on a house and pickup, causing extensive damage to the house. At the fairgrounds, a tin roof was removed from a barn, and a couple its trusses were damaged. The roof of the arena was damaged and a camper was flipped on it side.
August 2020HailNelson$300,000Hail ranging in size from quarters to tennis balls was reported in and around Nelson.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindNelson$200,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 65 MPH resulted in tree damage in the area. A couple of grain bins and pieces of farm equipment were damaged.
August 1996LightningNelson$100,000no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindNelson$75,000no account filed
June 1998HailNelson$75,000no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindNelson$75,000no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindNelson$50,000no account filed
May 2004Tornado (F0)Nelson$45,000A tornado set down south of Deweese and hit one farmstead on its 2 mile path. A shed and grain bin were damaged. Power poles were broken in the small tornadoes path.
August 2020HailNelson$25,000no account filed
June 2003Thunderstorm WindNelson$25,000no account filed
July 2006HailNelson$15,000no account filed
September 2006Thunderstorm WindNelson$15,000no account filed
May 2024Thunderstorm WindNelson$5,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 65 MPH resulted in a truck and livestock trailer being tipped over at the junction of Highway 136 and Highway 14.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindNelson$5,000A tree branch with a diameter of at least 10 inches fell across the road in Nelson.
November 2016Tornado (EF0)Nelson$3,000This tornado caused very minor damage along its short path through rural areas. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be 75 MPH.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindNelson-A wind gust of 68 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located near Nelson. Local law enforcement reported tree damage and several downed power lines in the area.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindNelson-A wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located six miles northwest of Nelson.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindNelson-Wind gusts were estimated to be near 65 MPH.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindNelson-A wind gust of 67 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located one mile north of Nelson, and a wind gust of 64 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located seven miles west-southwest of Nelson.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindNelson-A wind gust of 59 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located one mile north of Nelson.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindNelson-A wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located one mile north of Nelson.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindNelson-A wind gust of 67 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located one mile north of Nelson.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindNelson-Wind gusts estimated to be near 60 MPH resulted in area power outages.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindNelson-Wind gusts were estimated to be near 70 MPH.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindNelson-A 64 mph wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 6 miles southwest of Nelson.
April 2019Thunderstorm WindNelson-A 59 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 1 mile north of Nelson.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindNelson-A 71 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 1 mile north of Nelson at 3:41 AM CDT, with a 73 MPH wind gust measured at 3:43 AM CDT.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindNelson-A 63 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 5 miles north of Nelson.
September 2018Heavy RainNelson-A multi-day rainfall total of 6.99 was reported 5 miles south-southeast of Deweese.
July 2017Heavy RainNelson-A storm total rainfall amount of 3.16 inches was measured.
July 2017Heavy RainNelson-A storm total rainfall amount of 3.83 inches was measured.
August 2016Heavy RainNelson-Storm total rainfall of 3.81 inches...all of which fell between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. CDT.
August 2014HailNelson-One inch diameter hail began falling at 3:55 p.m. CDT, and by 3:58 p.m. CDT, hail diameter increased to 1.5 inches.
June 2012Heavy RainNelson-Rain total of 3.08 inches for the past 24 hours. Report comes from the Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network. The rain began during the late afternoon on June 14th, with the last round of rain ending during the early morning hours of June 15th.
June 2012Heavy RainNelson-Rain total of 3.28 of inches for the past 24 hours. The rain began during the late afternoon on June 14th, with the last round of rain ending during the early morning hours of June 15th.
May 2011Heavy RainNelson-Storm total rainfall of 3.98 inches was reported by a NeRAIN observer.
May 2011Heavy RainNelson-Storm total rainfall of 4.12 inches was reported by a NeRAIN observer.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindNelson-Wind gusts estimated at 60 mph.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Nelson-A tornado was reported by spotters just northwest of Nelson and moving southeast at the time.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Nelson-A tornado was reported just east of Nelson along the Elk Creek.
July 2023HailNelson-no account filed
April 2022HailNelson-no account filed
June 2022HailNelson-no account filed
August 2021HailNelson-no account filed
June 2019HailNelson-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindNelson-no account filed
September 2018Thunderstorm WindNelson-no account filed
June 2017Thunderstorm WindNelson-no account filed
August 2017Thunderstorm WindNelson-no account filed
June 2010HailNelson-no account filed
April 2009HailNelson-no account filed
May 2008HailNelson-no account filed
July 2008HailNelson-no account filed
August 2007HailNelson-no account filed
April 2005HailNelson-no account filed
July 2005HailNelson-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindNelson-no account filed
June 2004HailNelson-no account filed
May 2003HailNelson-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Nuckolls 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
Smyrna5.7 miles12
Nora5.9 miles12
Abdal (historical)6.2 miles12
Angus7.3 miles12
Cadams7.4 miles12
Mount Clare8.1 miles11
Oak9.0 miles12
Oak Mill10.3 miles12

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 NelsonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q952899The 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 831585. 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.