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Parks, Nebraska

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1979. It stands in Benkelman No. 3 precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69041. It stands on Rock Creek. The Survey maps it on the Parks quadrangle. 12 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,094 feet above sea level.

Parks within Dundy County

Population over time

2 figures

Parks fell from 23 to 12 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
201023
202012-11 (-48%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 7 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

2 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Parks between 2008 and 2011, burning about 15 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
Equipment and vehicle use1
Debris and open burning1

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
13 June 2008Debris and open burning15 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
22 January 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Every fire recorded in Dundy County

Storms near this place

60 of 106 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Parks in 106 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 65 hail, 32 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
July 2020FloodParks$100,000Multiple roads across the flooded part of the county were washed out. Notable road closures include Highway 34 closed from Benkelman to Highway 385 at Wray, River Road closed from Parks to Doane, and Avenue 328 closed due to four feet of water over the road. The flood waters also washed out part of the railroad between Parks and Haigler, stranding the train in Haigler. The Republican River at Benkelman reached a peak height of almost nine and a half feet. The record stage height is just over 13 feet. ||Total damage for this event (both flash flood and flood) totaled between $100,000 and $108,000.
July 2020Flash FloodParks$30,000A small bridge in the Rock Creek channel near Rock Creek Lake, and part of a road, were washed away due to the prolonged rainfall.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindParks$10,000A trained spotter reported thunderstorm wind damage about 3 miles west of Parks, NE with 5 inch tree limbs and power lines down.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindParks$5,000Estimated wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph occurred along with quarter size hail. Multiple tree limbs reported down in town by law enforcement. The time of this event was adjusted to 540 pm MDT based on Doppler radar information.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindParks$5,000Garage damaged by thunderstorm winds.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindParks$1,000Thunderstorm winds broke numerous tree limbs up to 4 inches in diameter.
July 2009HailParks$1,000Hail and wind reportedly broke windows in their home.
May 2025HailParks-MPing report of quarter sized hail.
May 2025HailParks-MPing report of quarter size hail.
September 2025HailParks-Report sent in via mPING.
May 2024FloodParks-EM passed along a report of a few spots on County Road 709 between roads 330 and 332 underwater due to the heavy rain received over the last 24 hours. Water depth unknown.
April 2024HailParks-The public reported 1 inch diameter hail.
May 2024HailParks-Trained spotter reports golf ball sized hail.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindParks-Personal weather station in Parks, NE measured a wind gust of 91 mph. Also reported a carport is gone and a camper was blown out of the carport.
May 2023HailParks-Caller estimated hail mainly from pea to penny in size. They said that there were a few larger stones around a quarter in size.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindParks-A strong thunderstorm produced an estimated 70-80 mph wind gust and half inch hail at the location.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindParks-A member of the public reported 60 to 70 mph winds that caused a brief power outage at the location.
July 2020HailParks-COOP observer reported nickel to quarter sized hail.
May 2020HailParks-A trained spotter reported 1 inch hail at his location via a phone call.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindParks-A CO-OP observer observed an estimated 60 mph wind gust associated with a strong thunderstorm.
August 2019Tornado (EFU)Parks-A storm chaser reported a very brief tornado about 10 miles northwest of Parks, NE.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindParks-The wind gusts broke two and three inch healthy tree limbs off trees.
July 2017HailParks-The hailstones ranged from quarter to half dollar in size. There was not much hail on the ground either.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindParks-Estimated wind speeds of at least 60 mph.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindParks-Multiple trees down in Parks, NE. Report received via social media, time was estimated by radar.
August 2016Flash FloodParks-Four to six inches of water was reported over the road east of the 327 Avenue and County Road 712 intersection.
July 2016HailParks-Nickel size hail accompanied the straight-line winds. The hail lasted 15-20 minutes.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindParks-Green tree limbs up to 3 inches in diameter were blown down. The winds lasted 15-20 minutes.
July 2015HailParks-Hail up to golf ball size was reported.
May 2014HailParks-Time of report estimated from radar. Rainfall totaled 0.35 inches along with estimated 40 to 50 mph wind gusts.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindParks-Three inch tree branches were snapped.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindParks-Two inch diameter tree limbs blown down.
June 2014HailParks-Nickel size hail reported.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindParks-Tree limbs 2-3 inches in diameter were blown down from the severe wind gusts. Estimated the time of the report from radar.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindParks-Spotter estimated peak winds of 60 mph along with two-inch diameter tree branches broken.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindParks-Spotter estimated peak winds of 60 mph along with nickel sized hail.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindParks-Twelve inch diameter tree branches reported down by coop observer.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindParks-Spotter reported several six-inch diameter live tree branches down.
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Parks-Brief duration of 3-4 minutes estimated by a spotter and relayed through law enforcement.
June 2010HailParks-Hail covered the ground.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindParks-Spotter estimated wind gusts to 60 mph.
July 2009HailParks-A third of an inch of rain was also reported.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindParks-Observer reported strong thunderstorm winds broke a large 8-9 inch diameter tree branch.
June 2008HailParks-Hail lasted four minutes.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindParks-Five-inch diameter tree branches down.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindParks-Three to four-inch diameter branches down. Also heavy rainfall and pea-size hail.
May 2005Tornado (F0)Parks-Brief touchdown over open fields. No known damage.
April 2003HailParks-Dime sized hail reached a depth of 2.5 inches at 01:00 am MST.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindParks-Four-inch tree limbs down.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindParks-Large tree limb broken.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindParks-Many trees and power lines were knocked down across Dundy County.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindParks-Four to Five inch diameter tree limbs down .
July 1994Thunderstorm WindParks-Large tree branches were blown down.
September 2025HailParks-no account filed
June 2022HailParks-no account filed
July 2020HailParks-no account filed
June 2019Funnel CloudParks-no account filed
July 2016HailParks-no account filed
May 2016HailParks-no account filed
May 2016HailParks-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dundy 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
Benkelman10.2 miles7
Rainbow Fountain Park10.2 miles7
Haigler11.5 miles7
Sanborn15.7 miles9
Max17.8 miles7
Lamont20.8 miles7
Ough22.4 miles7

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 ParksAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4164600The 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 835406. 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.