BlockBefore

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.

Ravenna within Buffalo County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Ravenna 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,360
20201,441+81 (+6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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.

What the histories say of this town

4,732 words

1 chapter about Ravenna from the published histories of the county, public domain and reproduced complete.

ChapterFrom Length
Buffalo County, Nebraska, and Its People : a Record of Settlement, OrgBuffalo County, Nebraska, and Its People : a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement (1916)4,732 words

Fires near this place

50 since 2007

Regional 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 burning18
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Smoking8
Equipment and vehicle use4
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Recreation and ceremony3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2

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
4 September 2012Railroad operations and maintenance2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
25 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
21 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
19 September 2012Debris and open burning1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 September 2018Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
5 August 2015Smokingunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
13 August 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
4 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Buffalo County

Storms near this place

60 of 65 shown

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2022HailRavenna$4,000,000There 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 2019FloodRavenna$2,000,000no account filed
March 2019FloodRavenna$2,000,000no account filed
May 2004Thunderstorm WindRavenna$800,000Straight-line winds of up to 80 mph overturned or damaged over 50 pivots in northeast Buffalo county.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindRavenna$150,000no account filed
July 2023HailRavenna$100,000Golf ball to baseball size hail was reported in the area. One spotter reported a broken windshield.
July 2004HailRavenna$100,00070 mph winds were reported with the hail. Crop damage was significant in the area.
July 2000HailRavenna$100,000no account filed
May 2011Thunderstorm WindRavenna$75,000Wind gusts were estimated at 70 MPH, causing roof damage to a local shop.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Ravenna$70,000This 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 1997Heavy RainRavenna$60,000The 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 2022HailRavenna$50,000Hail 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 2019HailRavenna$50,000Hail 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 2014HailRavenna$50,000Golf ball size hail broke the windshield of the trained spotter.
September 2006Tornado (F0)Ravenna$40,000A tornado briefly touched ground and destroyed an old barn south of Ravenna
June 2004HailRavenna$40,00060 mph winds were reported in the Ravenna area along with the hail.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRavenna$40,000no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindRavenna$25,000Hail accompanied the strong thunderstorm winds.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindRavenna$20,000no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindRavenna$10,000Wind 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 2006Thunderstorm WindRavenna$10,000no account filed
June 1998HailRavenna$5,000no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindRavenna$5,000no account filed
July 2014HailRavenna$1,000Hail 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 2025Thunderstorm WindRavenna-A wind gust of 65 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located six miles southwest of Boelus.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindRavenna-A wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located six miles south of Boelus.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindRavenna-A wind gust of 63 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located seven miles south of Boelus.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindRavenna-Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH.
August 2019Heavy RainRavenna-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 2019FloodRavenna-Mud Creek was out of its banks and flowing across Highway 68, on the south side of Ravenna.
August 2017Heavy RainRavenna-A 24-hour precipitation amount of 3.52 inches was recorded 3 miles southeast of Ravenna.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindRavenna-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 2013Heavy RainRavenna-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 2011Thunderstorm WindRavenna-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 MPH.
October 2011Heavy RainRavenna-Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 3.55 inches was reported.
October 2011Heavy RainRavenna-Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 3.08 inches was reported by a Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network observer.
October 2011Heavy RainRavenna-Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 4.07 inches was reported by a Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network observer.
April 2025HailRavenna-no account filed
April 2024HailRavenna-no account filed
June 2024HailRavenna-no account filed
May 2019HailRavenna-no account filed
April 2019HailRavenna-no account filed
June 2017Thunderstorm WindRavenna-no account filed
April 2015HailRavenna-no account filed
July 2014HailRavenna-no account filed
June 2014HailRavenna-no account filed
May 2013HailRavenna-no account filed
May 2012HailRavenna-no account filed
May 2011HailRavenna-no account filed
May 2011HailRavenna-no account filed
May 2011HailRavenna-no account filed
August 2010HailRavenna-no account filed
June 2010HailRavenna-no account filed
July 2010HailRavenna-no account filed
July 2010HailRavenna-no account filed
July 2010HailRavenna-no account filed
July 2010HailRavenna-no account filed
August 2006Thunderstorm WindRavenna-no account filed
September 2003HailRavenna-no account filed
June 2002HailRavenna-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Buffalo 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
Nantasket (historical)2.9 miles12
Poole4.4 miles13
Sweetwater5.2 miles11
Saint Michael8.7 miles12
Pleasanton10.1 miles15
Prairie Center13.8 miles16
Sartoria16.3 miles15
Gibbon19.5 miles16

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 RavennaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q968976The 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.