Polk, Nebraska
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1985. It stands in West Pleasant Home precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68654. The Survey maps it on the Polk quadrangle. 346 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,742 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresPolk grew from 322 to 346 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 | 322 | |
| 2020 | 346 | +24 (+7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 13 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.
- 1896 USGS Stromsburg quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1955 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Polk quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS David City quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
20 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Polk between 2005 and 2020, burning about 111 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 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 burning | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 29 September 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 28 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 27 September 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 2 September 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 April 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 22 April 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 21 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
39 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Polk in 39 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 14 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 7 flash flood, 4 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2001 | Tornado (F3) | Polk | $1,800,000 | A strong tornado entered Polk County from Hamilton County. |
| December 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Polk | $400,000 | This Polk County tornado touched down southeast of Polk and crossed Highway 66 about two miles east of town. The estimated maximum wind speed of 100 MPH was based upon multiple stretches of snapped power poles. Several irrigation pivots were overturned along and near its path. |
| May 2016 | Flash Flood | Polk | $75,000 | Training, slow moving thunderstorms with torrential rainfall resulted in flash flooding across northern Hamilton, far southwestern Polk and far north-northwestern York Counties. Hamilton County was the hardest hit, with radar estimates of 5 to 8 inches of rain. Numerous county roads were covered with water and were closed. One home near Marquette in Hamilton County had about 2 feet of water inside and around the house. Animals at the farmstead had to be moved, and witnesses claimed the horses were nearly belly-deep in water at one point. This water moved downstream into Polk and York Counties, causing flooding along the Big Blue River. |
| May 2008 | Flash Flood | Polk | $50,000 | Thunderstorms rolled across Polk County during the nighttime hours and dumped several inches of rain. This caused roads and small creeks to quickly flood. |
| June 2002 | Hail | Polk | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Polk | $40,000 | Southern Polk County had 4 to 7 inches of rainfall that sent water rushing across highways 92 and 81 near Osceola. Water was over the highways in all four directions out of Osceola. |
| May 2011 | Flash Flood | Polk | $25,000 | Water was reported over a number of county roads, and while the primary flooding threat ended during the late evening hours and water then began to recede, area creeks continued to run high and ditches were full well into the morning hours of May 13th. |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Polk | $25,000 | Early morning heavy rain resulted in reports of 5 to 6 inches across the area. This heavy rain caused water to run over a portion of Highway 66, and several county roads were under water. |
| August 2005 | Hail | Polk | $25,000 | 60 mph winds were also reported with the hail in the town of Polk. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Polk | $25,000 | no account filed |
| September 2006 | Hail | Polk | $20,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Polk | $20,000 | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Flash Flood | Polk | $10,000 | Many roads were flooded. Around 25 to 30 county roads (many were gravel roads) were closed in north central and northeastern portions of Polk County. At least one paved road had water running over it a few miles west of the Highway 81 and 64 junction. Some gravel roads were washed out in spots. Gauge readings and radar estimation indicated a narrow swath of six to 10 inches of rain fell in separate rounds over the course of roughly 30 hours. Minor flooding occurred along Clear Creek within northeast portions of the county. An NeRAIN observer seven miles north of Osceola reported 6.69 inches of rain between the evening of August 16th and the early morning of August 18th. The majority of the rain fell between 930 p.m. CDT August 17th through 1230 a.m. August 18th. Also, an unofficial public report of 8.50 of storm total rain occurred six miles south of Duncan. |
| August 2015 | Flood | Polk | $10,000 | Around 25 to 30 county roads (many were gravel roads) were closed due to standing water in north central and northeastern portions of Polk County. At least one paved road had water running over it a few miles west of the Highway 81 and 64 junction. Some gravel roads were washed out in spots. Gauge readings and radar estimation indicated a narrow swath of six to 10 inches of rain fell in separate rounds over the course of roughly 30 hours. Minor flooding occurred along Clear Creek within northeast portions of the county. An NeRAIN observer seven miles north of Osceola reported 6.69 inches of rain between the evening of August 16th and the early morning of August 18th. The majority of the rain fell between 930 p.m. CDT August 17th through 1230 a.m. August 18th. Also, an unofficial public report of 8.50 of storm total rain occurred six miles south of Duncan. |
| September 2000 | Hail | Polk | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | - | Minor damage was reported to roof and farm equipment. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Polk | - | Based on radar estimation and various totals from NWS/NeRAIN/CoCoRaHS observers, widespread rainfall of 2.50-4.50 inches fell across mainly the northern half of the county mainly between 10 p.m. CDT on the 21st and 3 a.m. CDT on the 22nd. Among the known impacts, Davis Creek flooded in and near Osceola, spilling onto and closing at least one lane of Highway 81/92 near the west edge of town for several hours. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | - | A wind gust of 61 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located in Polk. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | - | NWS Cooperative Observer reported damaging winds with some tree limbs downed. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | - | A wind gust of 63 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located two miles east of Polk. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | - | A 60 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 2 miles east of Polk. |
| October 2016 | Heavy Rain | Polk | - | A daily rainfall total of 4.05 inches was reported from separate rounds of morning and afternoon thunderstorms. |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Polk | - | Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches fell over a short period of time across central and southern portions of Polk County, which resulted in water running over Highway 81/92 just west of Osceola as well as a few area rural roads. |
| March 2009 | Hail | Polk | - | Accompanied by estimated winds of 50 mph. |
| August 2007 | Heavy Rain | Polk | - | Storm total of 4.11 inches. |
| October 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Polk | - | Tornado was briefly in Polk County coming from Hamilton County. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Polk | - | Large hail, driven by thunderstorm winds of 50 mph, damaged crops in a one mile wide swath from west of Clarks to north of Polk. |
| February 2011 | Flood | Polk | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Polk | - | no account filed |
| March 2011 | Flood | Polk | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Polk | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Polk | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Polk | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Funnel Cloud | Polk | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Polk | - | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Polk | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Hail | Polk | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durant | 6.4 miles | 13 | |
| Swedehome | 8.7 miles | 13 | |
| Stromsburg | 10.1 miles | 13 | |
| Osceola | 14.4 miles | 14 | |
| Shelby | 20.6 miles | 11 |
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 Polk | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2184107 | 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 832297. 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.





