Hayes Center, Nebraska
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1979. It stands in Hayes Center precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69032. The Survey maps it on the Hayes Center quadrangle. 224 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,045 feet above sea level.
Research this city
Population over time
2 figuresHayes Center grew from 214 to 224 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 | 214 | |
| 2020 | 224 | +10 (+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 Hayes Center quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Imperial quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
1 since 2012Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Hayes Center in 2012, burning about 120 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 March 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Storms near this place
60 of 233 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hayes Center in 233 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 153 hail, 49 thunderstorm wind, 14 flash flood, 9 tornado. 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 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Hayes Center | $3,000 | Public reports water flowing over road 741A. The time was estimated from radar. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Hayes Center | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Hayes Center | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Hayes Center | $2,000 | Public report of hail up to ping pong ball size cracked truck windshield and punched holes in vinyl siding on home. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Hayes Center | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Hayes Center | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Hayes Center | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Hayes Center | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Hayes Center | $1,500 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Hayes Center | $1,500 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $1,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 100 mph downed large tree limbs. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Hayes Center | $1,000 | Quarter sized hail damaged house siding. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $1,000 | A thunderstorm wind blew a tree down |
| August 1997 | Hail | Hayes Center | $1,000 | Wind-driven hail broke windows out. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | $500 | Tree limbs down |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EFU) | Hayes Center | - | A tornado briefly touched down in an open field and produced no damage. Time estimated from radar. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | - | Mesonet station 3 miles north of Hayes Center reported an 84 MPH wind gust. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | - | A mesonet, located 3 miles north of Hayes Center, reported a wind gust of 60 MPH. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Hayes Center | - | Golf ball sized hail reported in Hayes Center. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | - | A cooperative weather observer recorded a 62 mph wind gust. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | - | No details available. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 MPH knocked over a wind break which was supposed to withstand a 60 MPH gust. Small hail fell at this location as well. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hayes Center | - | Public estimated 70 mph winds northwest of Hayes Center. |
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 Hayes Center | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2694029 | 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 829885. 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.




