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Blair, Nebraska

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Blair City. It lies in ZIP code area 68008. The Survey maps it on the Blair quadrangle. 7,790 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,070 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Blair within Washington County

On record in Blair

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 9 records

Population over time

2 figures

Blair fell from 7,990 to 7,790 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
20107,990
20207,790-200 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 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.

In the county-history sources

61 words on this township

The county-history sources names this settlement in its chapter on Blair City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Blair City - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Fires near this place

15 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Blair between 1993 and 2019, burning about 74 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Equipment and vehicle use4
Debris and open burning3
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Smoking1
Natural1

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
1 August 2002Equipment and vehicle use40 acresDeSoto National Wildlife RefugeWLDFR-BOYE
31 July 2001Debris and open burningunder an acreDeSoto National Wildlife RefugeWLDFIRE-3
2 July 2001Naturalunder an acreDeSoto National Wildlife RefugeWILD-2
6 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 May 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreDeSoto National Wildlife RefugeWLF-1
9 April 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
8 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
6 April 2019Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

60 of 78 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Blair in 78 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 39 hail, 33 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 lightning. 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
May 2004HailBlair$10,000,000Hail up to baseball size fell in Blair and west through south of town. The hail caused extensive damage to cars and at least two large car dealerships were hit with over 4500 cars damaged. Houses and trees in town were also damaged and Dana College sustained 1 million dollars in damage in broken windows, skylights and vents. Two hundred windows were broken on campus. The dollar damage total was from eastern Dodge county into Washington county, with over half of it likely in Washington county around and in the Blair area.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindBlair$100,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 70 mph downed numerous large trees and power lines in town. Many homes and cars sustained damage when branches fell on them, and power was knocked out to parts of the town for up to 24 hours. Several people narrowly escaped serious injury by avoiding falling trees, one in a car and another in a house.
May 1996LightningBlair$35,000no account filed
April 1998Thunderstorm WindBlair$25,000no account filed
April 1998Thunderstorm WindBlair$10,000Metal outbuilding pulled out of ground and thrown 30 feet.
April 1998Thunderstorm WindBlair$9,000no account filed
April 2025HailBlair-Amateur radio report of hail measured up to 2 in diameter. Delayed report with the time estimated from radar.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBlair-Personal weather station measured wind gust of 61 mph.
April 2024HailBlair-Shortly after the top of the hour, the office received a public report of half dollar sized hail in Blair. A few minutes after this report came in, there was another mPING report of golf ball sized hail, also in Blair.
April 2024HailBlair-A report was received from the public via mPING of quarter sized hail.
May 2024Tornado (EF0)Blair-This tornado touched down at the intersection of US Highway 30 and Highway 133. As it tracked northeast into the south side of Blair, numerous trees were topped or had several branches broken off. This tornado dissipated at the intersection of South Street and South 10th Street. The peak estimated winds in this tornado were 74 miles per hour. The maximum width and average width of this tornado were determined to be 60 yards.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindBlair-A 67 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindBlair-A 72 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBlair-Law enforcement reported tree damage in Blair with a large limb down across a street and other limbs on power lines.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBlair-A personal weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 60 mph. The public reported the tin roof peeled off of a machine shed.
August 2023Flash FloodBlair-Public reported 5 to 6 inches of water flowing over Highway 30.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindBlair-Storm chaser estimated peak wind gusts at 60 mph and reported a power outage.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindBlair-Winds were estimated at 60 to 65 mph.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBlair-Large tree limbs down throughout the town of Blair. Power outages were reported throughout the city.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindBlair-Roof to a home was damaged by damaging winds in Blair.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindBlair-Tree limbs and power lines were reported downed in the city of Blair.
August 2016Flash FloodBlair-Very heavy rainfall from a nearly stationary thunderstorm produced amounts of 5 to 7 inches in the area. This led to flash flooding, which closed State Highway 133 and U.S. Highway 30 near Blair, NE. County roads P29 and P26 were also closed due to flooding.
June 2014HailBlair-Spotters reported hail up to the size of baseballs in the city of Blair. The combination of giant hail and strong winds damaged most buildings in the city including broken windows and siding damage. Numerous cars were severely damaged as well and a large auto dealership in town reported that cars inventoried at over $100 million sustained at least some damage and in many cases totaled.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindBlair-The roof of a building was blown off near the Cargil plant east of Blair. In addition, several trees were reported down throughout the city of Blair.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindBlair-Home weather equipment measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 81 mph in the Blair area. The winds destroyed a horse barn and grain bin a few miles west of Blair and also damaged the siding of a home. Other outbuilding damage was noted in the area.
August 2011HailBlair-Hail between golf ball and tea cup-size fell along with thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 60 mph.
September 2010HailBlair-Nickel-size hail became golf ball-size in a few minutes time in the Blair area.
June 2010HailBlair-Hail of nickel to golf ball-size preceded or fell just as thunderstorm wind gusts measured around 70 mph by the Awos in Blair, which is several miles south of town.
June 2010HailBlair-Hail around nickel size fell from just south of Blair into Blair just before becoming Golf ball-size.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBlair-A local mesonet observation near the Washington county/Douglas county line south of Blair measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindBlair-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph downed a small tree northwest of Blair.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindBlair-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph knocked down some large tree branches and a few trees in town.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBlair-A thunderstorm wind gust was estimated at 60 mph by an area media meteorologist.
March 2006Thunderstorm WindBlair-The emergency manager estimated thunderstorm winds gusted into the 60 to 70 mph range.
May 2005HailBlair-Penny to nickel size hail was reported along with street flooding.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindBlair-A thunderstorm wind gust of 70 mph was measured at Eagle Airfield southwest of Blair.
April 2004Thunderstorm WindBlair-Estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of over 60 mph created power outages in Blair.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBlair-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph caused a large tree to fall on a house.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBlair-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 70 mph caused extensive tree damage from west of Blair into town. One garage was destroyed and several grain bins were flattened.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindBlair-Thunderstorm wind gusts of around 65 mph were reported by a trained weather spotter.
June 2001Flash FloodBlair-Heavy rains caused flash flooding that briefly closed Highway 75 north of Blair. Flooding was also observed along Bell Creek near Arlington.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindBlair-Thunderstorm wind gusts downed a tree which blocked a street for a while.
June 1999HailBlair-Mostly pea size but a few up to 1 inch.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindBlair-School had windows blown out. Outbuildings damaged. Trees downed
April 1998Thunderstorm WindBlair-Strong winds rolled a trailer house.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindBlair-Tree limbs were blown down as a line of thunderstorms moved through.
May 2019HailBlair-no account filed
September 2019HailBlair-no account filed
September 2019HailBlair-no account filed
June 2016HailBlair-no account filed
May 2012HailBlair-no account filed
August 2012HailBlair-no account filed
April 2010HailBlair-no account filed
June 2010HailBlair-no account filed
March 2007HailBlair-no account filed
July 2006HailBlair-no account filed
May 2005HailBlair-no account filed
May 2004HailBlair-no account filed
May 2004HailBlair-no account filed
May 2004HailBlair-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washington 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
De Soto4.8 miles15
Kennard6.4 miles14
Orum7.7 miles8
Fort Calhoun8.0 miles15
Herman10.1 miles8
Washington11.1 miles14
Nashville11.7 miles13
Arlington13.6 miles15

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 BlairAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q881164The 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 827479. 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.