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Shelby, Nebraska

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in South Canada precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 68662. The Survey maps it on the Shelby quadrangle. 710 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,640 feet above sea level.

Shelby within Polk County

Population over time

2 figures

Shelby fell from 714 to 710 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
2010714
2020710-4 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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.

Fires near this place

36 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 36 fires within 5 miles of Shelby between 2007 and 2019, burning about 817 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were 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 burning11
Equipment and vehicle use7
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Smoking4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Arson/incendiarism2
Fireworks1

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
30 September 2012Smoking1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
30 July 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
29 July 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 July 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 July 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
15 July 2009Smoking1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
4 June 2017Debris and open burning1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
30 June 2012Fireworksunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

60 of 82 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Shelby in 82 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 33 hail, 32 thunderstorm wind, 12 heavy rain, 2 flash flood. The reports record 7 injuries. 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 2023LightningShelby6 hurtSix employees working on the construction of a new grain elevator on the northeastern fringe of Shelby were sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries when lightning struck the structure.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindShelby1 hurt, $1,000,000no account filed
May 2024Tornado (EF0)Shelby$1,000,000A brief EF0 rated tornado skirted its way across northern Polk County in the early morning hours of May 21st. The tornado damaged trees, downed power lines and poles, and overturned several irrigation pivots. The peak wind was estimated to be 80 MPH.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindShelby$350,000Straight-line winds in this area were estimated to be around 85 MPH. In addition to a few irrigation pivots being overturned, a large metal-framed structure with attached canopy at an area cattle lot suffered significant damage.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindShelby$300,000A cooperative observer 3 miles northeast of Shelby reported 7 inch diameter tree branches down, plus several pivots around the area knocked over.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindShelby$250,000no account filed
May 2018HailShelby$150,000Quarter to golf ball size hail was reported.
April 2015HailShelby$150,000In addition, a nearby NeRAIN observer reported some broken windows and roof damage in the extreme northeast Polk County area.
October 2013HailShelby$75,000Golf ball size hail fell in the community of Shelby.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindShelby$75,000High winds and nickel size hail. Eight inch tree limbs broken.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindShelby$50,000Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH in Shelby and the NWS cooperative observer 3 miles northeast of town reported downed tree branches up to 3 inches in diameter.
July 2014HailShelby$50,000no account filed
June 2011HailShelby$50,000no account filed
April 2005Flash FloodShelby$50,000no account filed
July 2002HailShelby$50,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindShelby$50,000no account filed
June 1998HailShelby$30,000no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindShelby$25,000Wind gusts were estimated up to 70 MPH. A nearby mesonet station measured a gust of 65 MPH. Irrigation pivots were overturned and a tree was uprooted. The Cooperative Observer reported that visibility was near-zero at times.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindShelby$25,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 65 MPH resulted in roof damage to a storage shed on the far east side of Shelby as well as some small tree limbs being downed.
June 2014HailShelby$25,000Hail up to golf ball size was accompanied by wind gusts that were estimated to be between 60 and 70 mph.
October 2013HailShelby$25,000Half dollar size hail was still on the ground over two hours after it fell.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindShelby$25,000Wind gusts were estimated at 65 MPH, knocking down tree limbs up to 8 inches in diameter and snapping two healthy trees.
June 2011HailShelby$25,000no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindShelby$25,000no account filed
May 2005HailShelby$25,000no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindShelby$25,000no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindShelby$20,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 70 MPH resulted in tree damage and a semi truck being tipped over on Highway 81 between Roads 42 and 43.
September 2006Thunderstorm WindShelby$20,000no account filed
June 2014Thunderstorm WindShelby$15,000Thunderstorm wind gusts blew branches down that were at least 4 inches in diameter.
July 2008Flash FloodShelby$10,000Water was over county roads in southern Polk County.
September 2001HailShelby$8,000no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindShelby$5,000A large metal outbuilding flipped over and a large tree was knocked over as very strong outflow headed south of a line of thunderstorms.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindShelby$5,000A personal weather station measured a 69 MPH gust.
June 2008HailShelby$5,000no account filed
August 2011Thunderstorm WindShelby$2,000Wind gusts were estimated at 60 MPH, knocking down tree limbs up to 5 inches in diameter.
July 2008HailShelby$2,000no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindShelby$1,000no account filed
August 2025HailShelby-Hail up to quarter size was reported, was accompanied by wind gusts near 60 MPH.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindShelby-Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH, accompanied by quarter size hail.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindShelby-A wind gust of 74 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located four miles east-southeast of Osceola.
August 2024Tornado (EFU)Shelby-A brief touchdown occurred in rural northern Polk County, causing no damage. Location was approximated from radar data and a photo provided by a deputy.
October 2023Thunderstorm WindShelby-Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindShelby-A wind gust of 78 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located three miles northeast of Shelby.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindShelby-Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindShelby-A wind gust of 60 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located 3 miles northeast of Shelby.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindShelby-Numerous broken tree branches occurred, with up to 6 inch diameter for the largest tree branches. This occurred from strong outflow ahead of a line of thunderstorms moving in.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindShelby-NWS cooperative observer reported numerous broken tree branches up to 4 inches in diameter.
August 2017Heavy RainShelby-A 24-hour precipitation amount of 3.75 inches was recorded 4 miles south of Shelby.
August 2017Heavy RainShelby-A 24-hour precipitation amount of 3.80 inches was recorded 3 miles northeast of Shelby.
August 2017Heavy RainShelby-A 24-hour precipitation amount of 8.37 inches was recorded 4 miles northwest of Shelby. This is the highest known precipitation total in the NWS Hastings County Warning Area for this event.
August 2017Heavy RainShelby-A 24-hour precipitation amount of 4.40 inches was recorded 13 miles north of Shelby.
August 2017Heavy RainShelby-A 24-hour precipitation amount of 5.20 inches was recorded in Shelby.
April 2015HailShelby-Pea sized hail covered the ground, with some quarter sized hail mixed in.
June 2014Heavy RainShelby-A 24 hour rain total of 3.15 inches fell from mid-evening through the overnight, 3 miles northeast of Shelby.
June 2014Heavy RainShelby-A 24 hour rain total of 3.70 inches fell from mid-evening through the overnight at an NeRAIN site, two miles west-northwest of Shelby.
June 2014Heavy RainShelby-A 24 hour rain total of 3.41 inches fell from mid-evening through the overnight, 5 miles northeast of Osceola. This report was relayed from NERAIN.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindShelby-Hail up to golf ball size was accompanied by wind gusts that were estimated to be between 60 and 70 mph.
September 2014Heavy RainShelby-Storm total rainfall of 3.18 inches was reported, most falling between 6-9 p.m.
September 2014Heavy RainShelby-Storm total rainfall of 3.10 inches was reported, most falling between 6-9 p.m.
September 2014Heavy RainShelby-Storm total rainfall of 3.30 inches was reported, most falling between 6-9 p.m.

Every storm recorded in Polk 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
Osceola6.5 miles14
Stromsburg10.7 miles13
Swedehome12.8 miles13
Durant14.4 miles13
Polk20.6 miles13

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 ShelbyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2553526The 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 833371. 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.