Wauneta, Nebraska
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1979. It stands in Wauneta precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69045. The Survey maps it on the Wauneta East quadrangle. 549 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,943 feet above sea level.
On record in Wauneta
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
Wauneta Roller Millslisted 2008
Population over time
2 figuresWauneta fell from 577 to 549 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 | 577 | |
| 2020 | 549 | -28 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 7 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.
- 1954 USGS McCook quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS McCook quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS McCook quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1974 USGS Wauneta East quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Benkelman quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
5 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Wauneta between 2004 and 2010, burning about 5 acres in total. 1 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 use | 4 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 3 July 2007 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 13 July 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 12 July 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 May 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Storms near this place
60 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wauneta in 60 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 36 hail, 20 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. The reports record 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2002 | Lightning | Wauneta | 2 hurt | Lightning struck two teenage boys as they corralled cattle. One boy was struck and then the lightning bolt branched off striking the other boy. Both were knocked unconscious. The first boy that was struck was treated for 2nd degree burns on his legs, chest, and bottoms of feet and 3rd degree burns on his arms. The second boy that was struck only received minor injuries. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Wauneta | $100,000 | Thunderstorms with prolonged heavy rain falling on already saturated ground caused low land flooding along the Stinking Water Creek in eastern Chase County. Water was flowing over several county roads. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | $50,000 | Damaging winds in excess of 60 mph caused extensive large tree damage in Wauneta. Structural damage occurred to a home by a fallen tree with a center pivot irrigation system was overturned. |
| October 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds in excess of 60 mph caused significant damage to a farm house and barn. |
| March 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | $30,000 | Thunderstorm outflow winds destroyed a milk barn at a farmstead. |
| March 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | $30,000 | Thunderstorm outflow winds lifted the metal roof off the Frenchman Valley Coop building and deposited it in the road with some pieces breaking windows in nearby businesses. Harchelroad Motors also sustained roof damage to their business and had windows broken out of several vehicles. Other vehicles were lifted and turned. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Wauneta | $25,000 | Hail up to 3 inches in diameter was reported along with numerous car windows broken out in Wauneta. |
| June 2003 | Hail | Wauneta | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Wauneta | $10,000 | General public reported siding and roof damage caused by golf ball sized hail. |
| August 2004 | Hail | Wauneta | $6,000 | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Wauneta | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | $1,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 MPH blew sheets of tin across a field. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Wauneta | $1,000 | General public reported quarter to half dollar sized hail caused siding damage on west side of home along with one broken window. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Wauneta | - | Quarter sized hail along with 50 to 60 MPH winds reported at this location. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | Public estimates 60 MPH wind gusts along with heavy rain. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | Trained spotter reports 60 MPH winds in Wauneta. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Wauneta | - | Public reported quarter size hail near Wauneta. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | A personal weather station north of Wauneta measured a 58 mph wind gust. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | Power outage reported in Wauneta. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | Estimated 60 mph wind gust. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 to 70 MPH in the city of Wauneta. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | Public estimated 75 mph wind gusts. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Wauneta | - | Hail ranged in size from golf ball to teacup. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Wauneta | - | Chase County Sheriff reported golf ball sized hail and very heavy rain in Wauneta. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Wauneta | - | A supercell tornado touched down briefly over open rangeland. The supercell also produced 3 other tornadoes in Chase County. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Wauneta | - | Trained spotters reported a brief tornado touchdown over an open field. After the storm, a rooster pheasant was found with no feathers. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | A severe thunderstorm moved through Chase County. The storm was accompanied by very large hail, damaging wind, and several reports of funnel clouds. Bean and corn crops north and west of Imperial were damaged extensively. In Imperial, numerous trees were uprooted by the wind, two power poles were broken, and lines were blown down. The damage to utilities in Imperial required about 280 man-hours of overtime to repair. At the Trinidad Bean facility, bins and doors were damaged by the wind. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Wauneta | - | Thunderstorm winds and golfball hail knocked down trees destroyed a hog shed and blew the roof off a trailer home. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | Four inches of rain in twenty minutes caused street flooding in Wauneta. A farmhouse northwest of town was damaged by strong winds. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2023 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| August 1998 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Hail | Wauneta | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Hail | Wauneta | - | 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.
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 Wauneta | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q432615 | 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 834507. 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.




