Wood Lake, Nebraska
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Wood Lake precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69221. The Survey maps it on the Wood Lake quadrangle. 46 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,694 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresWood Lake fell from 63 to 46 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 | 63 | |
| 2020 | 46 | -17 (-27%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 9 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.
- 1950 USGS Wood Lake quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Wood Lake quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
3 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Wood Lake between 2004 and 2011, burning about 14 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 use | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 April 2011 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 12 March 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 26 December 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Storms near this place
60 of 81 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wood Lake in 81 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 57 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. 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 1996 | Lightning | Wood Lake | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Tornado (F1) | Wood Lake | $40,000 | A tornado touched down 7 miles northwest of Johnstown and was intermittently on the ground producing tree damage in Brown county. The tornado continued to touch down intermittently and grew to a width of a quarter mile near the Brown and Cherry county line. This is where the tornado caused the most extensive damage, destroying a large grove of trees, a calving shed, and moving a barn from its foundation, 8 miles southwest of Johnstown. The tornado proceeded to move nearly straight south in Cherry county and continued to cause extensive tree damage, and moved and destroyed several 1500 lb hay bales, 17 miles north of Elsmere. The tornado last touched down 10 miles north of Elsmere causing tree damage. |
| August 2011 | Tornado (EF3) | Wood Lake | $15,000 | A tornado developed five miles south-southeast of Wood Lake and traveled to the south. It was on the ground for approximately 20 minutes and was up to a maximum of a half mile wide with maximum winds of 140 m.p.h. The tornado caused damage to two tree groves. One tree was debarked, uprooted, and moved while several other trees were uprooted. Additionally, a windmill was destroyed and another three were damaged; a steel culvert from Plum Creek washed out and was broken and displaced three-quarters a mile downstream. Also, two miles of barb wire fencing was destroyed. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | $12,000 | The winds broke off 4 to 6 inch diameter cottonwood tree limbs. |
| July 2010 | Hail | Wood Lake | $10,000 | Delayed public report of hail to the size of golfballs that broke severe windows out of their home and stripped or knocked down all the hay in the area. Wind gusts exceeding 60 mph was also reported during the event. |
| July 2010 | Hail | Wood Lake | $10,000 | Hail broke out all of the north facings windows on the house. Winds estimated in excess of 60 mph. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | $10,000 | A storm chaser reported inflow winds into the supercell storm to be 55 mph with gusts to 70 mph. Several power poles were broken due to the winds. |
| May 2001 | Hail | Wood Lake | $10,000 | Vehicle damage and numerous windows broken in homes. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Wood Lake | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Wood Lake | $6,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Wood Lake | $5,000 | Golf ball sized hail broke out several windows of a home. |
| August 2011 | Tornado (EF1) | Wood Lake | $3,000 | The tornado destroyed a 12 foot by 16 foot storage building and rolled a metal calving shed over 300 feet. Three large hay bails were rolled up an incline and damaged fencing and a swing set. A detached garage door was also damaged and the chimney was torn off of the house. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Wood Lake | $3,000 | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Wood Lake | $1,000 | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Wood Lake | $1,000 | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | Report VIA social media. Time estimated by radar. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | Half dollar size hail was reported at this location. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Large tree branches reported down near Ballards Marsh. Report taken via social media. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated at 60 MPH and large tree limbs were reported down at this location. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | No information available. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | Nickle to quarter sized hail along with gusty winds were reported. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | Hail fell for ten minutes. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Thunderstorm wind gust to 60 MPH reported at this location. |
| October 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 mph by public. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Public reported wind gusts to 60 mph measured with home weather station. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Public estimated 60 mph winds occurring with nickel to quarter sized hail. |
| August 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Wood Lake | - | The tornado briefly touched down with no damage being observed and was rated as an EF0. The spotter indicated the condensation funnel did not extend completely from the funnel to the ground, but debris was seen flying under the funnel. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Many trees were blown down and building damage was also observed. Winds of greater than 60 m.p.h. lasted for about 20 minutes in this area. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | Public reported quarter sized hail. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Public estimated wind at least 60 mph if not greater. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Thunderstorms produced severe criteria wind gusts to the southeast of the Valentine area. |
| June 2009 | Heavy Rain | Wood Lake | - | The storm dropped 2.40 inches of rain in 30 minutes. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Numerous large tree branches were blown down. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | The public estimated winds at 60 mph or higher. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | The public reported 1.5 inches of rain along with the hail. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wood Lake | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts greater than 60 mph broke off numerous tree limbs . |
| June 2025 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| April 2024 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2018 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Wood Lake | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabia | 9.6 miles | 8 | |
| Thatcher | 16.7 miles | 10 | |
| Piercy Place | 20.6 miles | 10 | |
| Sparks | 20.9 miles | 10 | |
| Hartgraves Place | 22.0 miles | 10 | |
| Valentine | 23.1 miles | 10 | |
| Conterra | 24.6 miles | 9 | |
| Simeon | 25.6 miles | 9 |
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 Wood Lake | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2130552 | 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 834857. 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.




