BlockHayes County, Nebraska
11 topographic sheets cover 3 settlements here.
What the record shows
- 21 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 3 populated places in this county; 3 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Wildfire, 2008 to 2020
8 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 8 of them, burning about 2,159 acres. None started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 April 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 17 March 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 26 November 2010 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 4 May 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 7.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 May 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 7.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 29 April 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 25 March 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 22 January 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1957 to 2025
60 of 353 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 353 reports for this county, causing no deaths, no injuries and about $7,820,750 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 231 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 66 |
| Flash Flood | 25 |
| Tornado | 19 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 |
| Flood | 3 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1999 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $2,000,000 | Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall amounts of 10 to 14 inches in Hayes County, causing numerous washed out roads and culverts. |
| May 2025 | Tornado (EF2) | Hayes Center | $1,500,000 | Tornado touched down in pastureland destroying a windmill and numerous trees. The tornado then tracked to the north northeast over the next 34 minutes destroying outbuildings at a farmstead and feed lot and overturning several center pivot irrigation systems. Numerous power poles were also snapped by the tornado before dissipating south of Dickens Nebraska. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Hayes Center | $1,000,000 | A supercell storm moved through the area and dropped softball size hail. The hail severely damaged vehicles building roofs, broke windows, tore holes in the metal siding on homes, tore through the roof of a motel and through the roof of the newspaper building, The Times-Republican. |
| August 1997 | Hail | Hayes Center | $500,000 | Strong thunderstorm winds and hail broke tree limbs and caused severe crop damage in the Hayes Center area. |
| August 1993 | Hail | Hayes | $500,000 | A severe thunderstorm produced a seven mile wide path of hail and wind damage from northwest of Hayes Center to North of Palisade. Hail up to walnut-size was driven into drifts 1 to 3 feet high by winds in excess of 60 mph. 9,800 acres of corn and 3,400 acres of beans were damaged. Many of these were totally destroyed with corn plants reduced to short stubs. Farm buildings, houses, and trees were also damaged by the wind and hail. Five power poles were blown down. Hitchcock County Culbertson,01,0510CST,,,0,0,?,?,Hail (1.00) |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $300,000 | Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall of 2 to 9 inches across Hayes County. The heaviest rainfall occurred northeast of Hayes Center where unconfirmed reports of 16 inches of rain fell in 2 days. Old Highway 17 west of Hayes Center was washed out. A bridge was washed out 4 miles south of Camp Hayes Lake. Numerous secondary roads were severely damaged due to water over the road. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $250,000 | Thunderstorm wind broke utility poles. |
| August 2008 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $200,000 | Up to 8 inches of rain fell across southeast Hayes County causing widespread flooding - especially along the tributaries of Blackwood Creek and Red Willow Creek. Several roads were completely washed out while others were impassable. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Hamlet | $200,000 | Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall of 2 to 4 inches across Hayes County. Additional heavy rainfall on already saturated ground caused water to wash out secondary roads north of Palisade and southwest of Hayes Center. Water was over Highway 25 and 25A in several locations south and southwest of Hayes Center. |
| October 2000 | Tornado (F1) | Hamlet | $160,000 | A tornado touched down 1 mile west of Hamlet and was intermittently on the ground to 9 miles north of Hamlet. As the tornado moved into Stinking Water Creek bottom 4 miles north northwest of Hamlet a garage was destroyed and several farm outbuilding were damaged. Large cottonwood and evergreen trees were uprooted or snapped off. The tornado then struck a farm 9 miles north of Hamlet destroying a calf shed and doing extensive tree damage before lifting. |
| May 2023 | Flash Flood | Hamlet | $100,000 | Motorist stranded on Highway 6 due to high water over the roadway. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $100,000 | Over 4 inches of heavy rain caused flash flooding along Blackwood Creek. Water crossed and partially washed away numerous secondary roads throughout Hayes County. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Hayes Center | $100,000 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Flood | Hamlet | $75,000 | Thunderstorms with heavy rain falling on already saturated ground caused widespread minor flooding in northwest Hayes County. Rainfall of 2 to 5 inches contributed to numerous rural roads being washed out or severely damaged from water flowing across them. The Stinking Water Creek overflowed across Hamlet Road. |
| April 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $60,000 | Large storage building destroyed. Building was 60 by 80 feet. Siding of home and combine damaged by wind driven corn stalk remnants. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Hayes Center | $60,000 | Wind driven hail shredded the vinyl siding on a home and broke a three-pane thick window on a home. The hail also severely damaged crops and center pivot irrigation systems. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hamlet | $60,000 | Large trees were uprooted, center pivots irrigation systems were overturned, and weak sheds were destroyed. |
| May 2023 | Flash Flood | Hamlet | $50,000 | The city park and pool is flooded on the north side of Palisade. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $50,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 MPH damaged numerous large trees. A farm shed was damaged and several grain bins were destroyed in Hayes Center. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Hamlet | $50,000 | A supercell thunderstorm produced very large hail that tore through the roof of the Hamlet Union Church and metal buildings, broke windows in vehicles and homes, and severely damaged siding on homes and bodies of vehicles. |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $50,000 | Heavy rainfall of 4 to 5 inches caused water levels to rise in Blackwood Creek 5 miles west of Hayes Center. The water covered a 60 foot wide area of the road where the water was 3 to 4 foot deep. The rushing water damaged the road with several washouts. |
| July 2007 | Hail | Hamlet | $40,000 | The large hail damaged roofs and vehicles. |
| May 2023 | Flash Flood | Hamlet | $25,000 | Highway 25A between Palisade and Highway 25 is closed due to flooding. |
| May 2023 | Flash Flood | Hamlet | $25,000 | Several campers reported stranded due to high water from flash flooding. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $25,000 | A roof blown off a Quonset building with large tree limbs down. |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $25,000 | Heavy rain of 1.5 inches in 45 minutes washed out county roads. |
| October 1980 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 1960 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Hayes Center | $20,000 | A supercell thunderstorm produced baseball size hail which severely damaged vehicles and roofs of a couple of buildings, broke windows, and tore holes in the metal siding of homes. |
| May 2023 | Flood | Hamlet | $15,000 | Highway 6 near Hamlet is closed due to water over the roadway. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $15,000 | Wind and hail of unknown size damaged siding on a house and stripped several acres of corn. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Hamlet | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $10,000 | Power lines downed by high winds at the Junction of Highways 25 and 25A; approximately 6 miles northwest of Palisade. |
| April 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $10,000 | Pasture fences and gates blown down. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Hamlet | $10,000 | Heavy rain from a supercell thunderstorm caused water to flow over roadways and partially washout rural roads. |
| September 2007 | Hail | Hayes Center | $10,000 | The hail produced severe siding damage to the south side of a house. |
| July 2004 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $10,000 | Flash flooding from nearly stationary thunderstorms caused two to three culverts to be washed out and water to flow over several roadways, mainly in the eastern part of Hayes County. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $10,000 | A grain bin was blown over. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Hayes Center | $9,000 | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Hayes Center | $8,000 | Severe thunderstorm winds and large hail broke large tree branches down in Hayes Center. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $5,000 | Semi truck and trailer flipped at this location. |
| August 2015 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $5,000 | Roads were rendered impassible near Hayes Center due to heavy rain and washouts in spots. |
| July 2011 | Hail | Hamlet | $5,000 | Numerous wind shields were broken in Hamlet from hail the size of ping pong balls. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | Extensive crop damage from three separate storm cells. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | Public reported hail ranged from quarter to golf ball sized, with some hail as large as tennis balls. Roof damage occurred at residence. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $5,000 | Strong winds destroyed a weakly built outbuilding on a farmstead. |
| September 2007 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | Hail covered the ground. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | Wind driven hail punctured holes in the vinyl siding of a house. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Hamlet | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Hayes Center | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Hamlet | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Hamlet | $4,000 | Hail covered the ground. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $4,000 | Thunderstorm outflow winds snapped 3 power poles and broke off numerous large tree limbs. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Hayes Center | $4,000 | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Hail | Hayes Center | $4,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Hamlet | $4,000 | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $3,000 | Public reports water flowing over road 741A. The time was estimated from radar. |
Every populated place in the county
3Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
Provenance
- Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
- Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
- Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
- 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.
- Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
- 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.