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Rockville, Nebraska

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Rockville precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68871. It stands on Rock Creek. The Survey maps it on the Rockville quadrangle. 89 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,978 feet above sea level.

Rockville within Sherman County

Population over time

2 figures

Rockville fell from 106 to 89 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
2010106
202089-17 (-16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 12 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

23 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 23 fires within 5 miles of Rockville between 2005 and 2020, burning about 150 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 use8
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Debris and open burning5
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony1

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
29 September 2011Equipment and vehicle use10 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
15 September 2012Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
4 August 2005Debris and open burning2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
16 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
23 July 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
21 July 2009Debris and open burning3.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
28 June 2017Smoking1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 June 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Every fire recorded in Sherman County

Storms near this place

39 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rockville in 39 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 21 hail, 7 tornado, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 heavy rain. 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
August 2019Flash FloodRockville$250,000The following highways were closed to flash flooding: Highway 10 about 6 miles south of Loup City on Wiggle Creek, Highway 10 about 5 miles east of Hazard, and Highway 68 about four miles north of Ravenna. A rainfall amount of 7 inches was reported about 6 miles south of Loup City, with water flooding a home basement and other outbuildings. A rainfall amount of 7.5 inches was reported about 6 miles north northwest of Ravenna, occurring on top of 4.5 inches of rain from two days ago. Several county roads were flooded in the area.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Rockville$200,000The second tornado of the day was first sighted out in a field south of Rockville, then moved north and cross the Middle Loup River. The tornado caused EF1 rated damage to a home and outbuildings just south of town. It then moved north along the east edge of Rockville and damaged trees, a couple of grain bins and outbuildings. It continued to move north roughly along Rockville Road and snapped several power poles. Based upon reports, the tornado likely dissipated in open country about four miles north of town. The EF1 rating and estimated peak wind speed of 105 MPH was assigned based upon the snapped power poles north of town.
September 2019HailRockville$150,000Emergency Manager reported hail anywhere from golf ball to tennis ball size at the intersection of Highway 58 and 784th Road.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindRockville$150,000no account filed
August 2019FloodRockville$125,000Areal flooding continued after initial flash flooding. Portions of Highway 10 and Highway 68 were closed from areal flooding. Also South River Road was closed due to flooding.
June 2014HailRockville$100,000Hail ranging in size from quarters to tea cups was reported 2 miles northwest of Rockville.
June 2011Tornado (EF2)Rockville$100,000This tornado touched down approximately 6 miles southwest of Rockville, moving to the north before taking a turn to the east as it approached the intersection of Highways 68 and 82A, and lifted approximately 4 miles southwest of Rockville. Along the path of this tornado, a pole building was destroyed and a home and surrounding trees sustained minor damage. The maximum wind speed of this tornado was estimated to be 120 MPH.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Rockville$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.
August 2022HailRockville$50,000Quarter to golf ball size hail was reported in the area.
June 2014HailRockville$50,000Hail ranged in size from quarter to hen egg.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindRockville$25,000Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH. Tree damage was reported in the area.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindRockville$25,000Wind gusts estimated near 80 MPH resulted in garage door and siding damage at a home.
June 2014HailRockville$25,000no account filed
May 2005HailRockville$25,000no account filed
June 1997HailRockville$20,000no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindRockville$10,000no account filed
July 2002HailRockville$10,000no account filed
June 1998HailRockville$5,000no account filed
June 1998HailRockville$5,000no account filed
October 2023Tornado (EF0)Rockville$1,000A very brief tornado occurred on the south side of Rockville near or along Highway 68. Based upon video, the tornado lasted less than 5 seconds as it caused some minor damage in the area.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindRockville-Wind gusts estimated to be near 60 MPH resulted in some small tree branches being downed.
June 2018Heavy RainRockville-A two-day rain total of 4.50 inches was reported two miles northwest of Rockville, with nearly all of this falling in a 24-hour period between the afternoon of the 24th and afternoon of the 25th.
August 2016Tornado (EF0)Rockville-A very narrow and short-lived rope tornado occurred. A tornado photo was posted on Twitter.
April 2013Heavy RainRockville-A total of 3.61 inches of rain fell. This was a 24-hour rainfall amount as of 7 am CDT. This report was relayed through the Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network.
October 2011Heavy RainRockville-Total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 3.45 inches was reported by a Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network observer.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Rockville-A tornado was observed by many storm chasers in the area. It was on the ground about 3 minutes in open country.
June 1997Tornado (F0)Rockville-A brief touchdown was reported by spotters northwest of Rockville.
April 2025HailRockville-no account filed
April 2024HailRockville-no account filed
October 2023HailRockville-no account filed
August 2022HailRockville-no account filed
June 2018HailRockville-no account filed
May 2013HailRockville-no account filed
May 2011HailRockville-no account filed
May 2011HailRockville-no account filed
May 2011HailRockville-no account filed
May 2002Thunderstorm WindRockville-no account filed
April 2001HailRockville-no account filed
May 1998HailRockville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sherman 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
Ashton9.2 miles12
Loup City13.0 miles12
Hazard13.3 miles11
Litchfield17.4 miles10

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 RockvilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2692918The 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 832658. 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.