Ravenna, Nebraska
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Precinct 18. It lies in ZIP code area 68869. It stands on Mud Creek. The Survey maps it on the Ravenna quadrangle. 1,441 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,008 feet above sea level.
On record in Ravenna
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 1 record
- Bohning Memorial Auditoriumlisted 2023
Population over time
2 figuresRavenna grew from 1,360 to 1,441 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 | 1,360 | |
| 2020 | 1,441 | +81 (+6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 11 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.
- 1899 USGS Loup quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Ravenna quadrangle1:24000
- 1955 USGS Broken Bow quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1956 USGS Broken Bow quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS St. Paul quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
What the histories say of this town
4,732 words1 chapter about Ravenna from the published histories of the county, public domain and reproduced complete.
| Chapter | From | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo County, Nebraska, and Its People : a Record of Settlement, Org | Buffalo County, Nebraska, and Its People : a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement (1916) | 4,732 words |
Fires near this place
50 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 50 fires within 5 miles of Ravenna between 2007 and 2020, burning about 128 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 burning | 18 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 25 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 21 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 19 September 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 18 September 2018 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 August 2015 | Smoking | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 13 August 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 4 July 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 65 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ravenna in 65 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 35 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 7 heavy rain, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2022 | Hail | Ravenna | $4,000,000 | There were several reports of hail ranging from 2-4 inch diameter in and near Ravenna. Widespread home siding and window damage was reported. Vehicles sustained damage, including shattered windows and windshields of the town's fire trucks. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Ravenna | $2,000,000 | no account filed |
| March 2019 | Flood | Ravenna | $2,000,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $800,000 | Straight-line winds of up to 80 mph overturned or damaged over 50 pivots in northeast Buffalo county. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $150,000 | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Ravenna | $100,000 | Golf ball to baseball size hail was reported in the area. One spotter reported a broken windshield. |
| July 2004 | Hail | Ravenna | $100,000 | 70 mph winds were reported with the hail. Crop damage was significant in the area. |
| July 2000 | Hail | Ravenna | $100,000 | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $75,000 | Wind gusts were estimated at 70 MPH, causing roof damage to a local shop. |
| April 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Ravenna | $70,000 | This tornado was the first tornado of the day, starting east-southeast of Ravenna in Buffalo County and ending north of Ravenna in Sherman County. Damage started at an ethanol plant east of Ravenna, where minor damage occurred on a catwalk. The tornado moved north-northwest during its life cycle. The most significant damage was at a residence in southern Sherman County, where outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. The tornado was rated an EF1 with an estimated peak wind speed of 90 MPH, based upon damage to a power pole and the structures. The tornado faded away on or very near Highway 68 about three miles north of Ravenna in Sherman County. |
| May 1997 | Heavy Rain | Ravenna | $60,000 | The weight from near 3 inches of rain over 3 days may have contributed to the collapse of an already weakened theatre roof in downtown Ravenna. The building was used for storage and contained 5 cars, washing machines and old toys at the time of the collapse. |
| August 2022 | Hail | Ravenna | $50,000 | Hail ranging in size from quarters to golf balls was reported in this area. Windows were shattered out of a vehicle six miles southwest of Boelus. |
| August 2019 | Hail | Ravenna | $50,000 | Hail ranging in size from peas to golf balls fell for approximately 45 minutes, ravaging a 45-acre melon and pumpkin patch east of Ravenna. About a month later, it was reported that the business lost 80-90 percent of its produce from this storm. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Ravenna | $50,000 | Golf ball size hail broke the windshield of the trained spotter. |
| September 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Ravenna | $40,000 | A tornado briefly touched ground and destroyed an old barn south of Ravenna |
| June 2004 | Hail | Ravenna | $40,000 | 60 mph winds were reported in the Ravenna area along with the hail. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $40,000 | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $25,000 | Hail accompanied the strong thunderstorm winds. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $10,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be near 65 MPH resulted in tree damage and downed power lines in Ravenna. Wind was accompanied by pea to dime size hail. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Ravenna | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Ravenna | $1,000 | Hail ranged in size from quarters to golf balls. Extensive damage to crops was reported in the area as well as house siding and window damage in Ravenna. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | A wind gust of 65 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located six miles southwest of Boelus. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | A wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located six miles south of Boelus. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | A wind gust of 63 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located seven miles south of Boelus. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH. |
| August 2019 | Heavy Rain | Ravenna | - | A rainfall total of 5.50 inches was reported six miles south-southwest of Boelus, most of which fell between 12-3 a.m. CDT. This was an unofficial public report and likely a higher-end outlier, as another report from nearly the same area was only 3.84 inches. |
| August 2019 | Flood | Ravenna | - | Mud Creek was out of its banks and flowing across Highway 68, on the south side of Ravenna. |
| August 2017 | Heavy Rain | Ravenna | - | A 24-hour precipitation amount of 3.52 inches was recorded 3 miles southeast of Ravenna. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | Tree limbs snapped due to severe thunderstorm wind gusts. This appears to have occurred in association with an outflow boundary extending south of the parent thunderstorm. |
| August 2013 | Heavy Rain | Ravenna | - | A 12 hour total of 3.11 inches fell through 7 am CDT. This report was from the Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network (NERAIN). |
| October 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 MPH. |
| October 2011 | Heavy Rain | Ravenna | - | Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 3.55 inches was reported. |
| October 2011 | Heavy Rain | Ravenna | - | Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 3.08 inches was reported by a Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network observer. |
| October 2011 | Heavy Rain | Ravenna | - | Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 4.07 inches was reported by a Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network observer. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| April 2024 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| May 2019 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| April 2019 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| August 2010 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| September 2003 | Hail | Ravenna | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Ravenna | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nantasket (historical) | 2.9 miles | 12 | |
| Poole | 4.4 miles | 13 | |
| Sweetwater | 5.2 miles | 11 | |
| Saint Michael | 8.7 miles | 12 | |
| Pleasanton | 10.1 miles | 15 | |
| Prairie Center | 13.8 miles | 16 | |
| Sartoria | 16.3 miles | 15 | |
| Gibbon | 19.5 miles | 16 |
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 Ravenna | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q968976 | 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 832472. 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.




