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
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
Bertrand Sitelisted 1969
Blair High Schoollisted 1991
Abraham Castetter Houselisted 1982
Congregational Church of Blairlisted 1979
C. C. Crowell Jr. Houselisted 1982
Long Creek Schoollisted 2001
Washington County Courthouselisted 1990- Dana College Campuslisted 2021
- Trinity Seminary Buildinglisted 1980
Population over time
2 figuresBlair 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7,990 | |
| 2020 | 7,790 | -200 (-3%) |
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.
- 1955 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1970 USGS Blair quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Blair quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
61 words on this townshipThe 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 1993Regional 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/undetermined | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 acres | DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge | WLDFR-BOYE |
| 31 July 2001 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge | WLDFIRE-3 |
| 2 July 2001 | Natural | under an acre | DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge | WILD-2 |
| 6 June 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 May 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge | WLF-1 |
| 9 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 8 April 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 6 April 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 78 shownRegional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2004 | Hail | Blair | $10,000,000 | Hail 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 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | $100,000 | Thunderstorm 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 1996 | Lightning | Blair | $35,000 | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | $10,000 | Metal outbuilding pulled out of ground and thrown 30 feet. |
| April 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | $9,000 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Hail | Blair | - | Amateur radio report of hail measured up to 2 in diameter. Delayed report with the time estimated from radar. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Personal weather station measured wind gust of 61 mph. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Blair | - | 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 2024 | Hail | Blair | - | A report was received from the public via mPING of quarter sized hail. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (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 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | A 67 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | A 72 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Law enforcement reported tree damage in Blair with a large limb down across a street and other limbs on power lines. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | 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 2023 | Flash Flood | Blair | - | Public reported 5 to 6 inches of water flowing over Highway 30. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Storm chaser estimated peak wind gusts at 60 mph and reported a power outage. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Winds were estimated at 60 to 65 mph. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Large tree limbs down throughout the town of Blair. Power outages were reported throughout the city. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Roof to a home was damaged by damaging winds in Blair. |
| April 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Tree limbs and power lines were reported downed in the city of Blair. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Blair | - | 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 2014 | Hail | Blair | - | 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 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | 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 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | 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 2011 | Hail | Blair | - | Hail between golf ball and tea cup-size fell along with thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 60 mph. |
| September 2010 | Hail | Blair | - | Nickel-size hail became golf ball-size in a few minutes time in the Blair area. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Blair | - | 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 2010 | Hail | Blair | - | Hail around nickel size fell from just south of Blair into Blair just before becoming Golf ball-size. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | A local mesonet observation near the Washington county/Douglas county line south of Blair measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph downed a small tree northwest of Blair. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph knocked down some large tree branches and a few trees in town. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | A thunderstorm wind gust was estimated at 60 mph by an area media meteorologist. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | The emergency manager estimated thunderstorm winds gusted into the 60 to 70 mph range. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Blair | - | Penny to nickel size hail was reported along with street flooding. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | A thunderstorm wind gust of 70 mph was measured at Eagle Airfield southwest of Blair. |
| April 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of over 60 mph created power outages in Blair. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph caused a large tree to fall on a house. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | 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 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts of around 65 mph were reported by a trained weather spotter. |
| June 2001 | Flash Flood | Blair | - | Heavy rains caused flash flooding that briefly closed Highway 75 north of Blair. Flooding was also observed along Bell Creek near Arlington. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts downed a tree which blocked a street for a while. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Blair | - | Mostly pea size but a few up to 1 inch. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | School had windows blown out. Outbuildings damaged. Trees downed |
| April 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Strong winds rolled a trailer house. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blair | - | Tree limbs were blown down as a line of thunderstorms moved through. |
| May 2019 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| September 2019 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| September 2019 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| March 2007 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Blair | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Blair | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| De Soto | 4.8 miles | 15 | |
| Kennard | 6.4 miles | 14 | |
| Orum | 7.7 miles | 8 | |
| Fort Calhoun | 8.0 miles | 15 | |
| Herman | 10.1 miles | 8 | |
| Washington | 11.1 miles | 14 | |
| Nashville | 11.7 miles | 13 | |
| Arlington | 13.6 miles | 15 |
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 Blair | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q881164 | 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 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.




