Max, Nebraska
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1979. It stands in Benkelman No. 2 precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69037. It lies near Boston Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Max quadrangle. 50 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,900 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresMax fell from 57 to 50 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 | 57 | |
| 2020 | 50 | -7 (-12%) |
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
- 1962 USGS Max quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Benkelman quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
6 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Max between 2007 and 2020, burning about 528 acres in total. 2 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 | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 August 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 August 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 19 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 3 July 2007 | Natural | 15 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 18 July 2007 | Natural | 10 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 11 May 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Storms near this place
60 of 76 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Max in 76 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 55 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 1 flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Max | $35,000 | Storm chaser reported the tornado remained mostly over open fields in rural Dundy county. Newspaper accounts stated that one center pivot system was overturned, and a barn roof was damaged. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | $1,000 | Strong winds blew majority of a barn roof off. Time and wind speed are estimated based on radar and local observations. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | $1,000 | A mature pine tree was reported to be blown over. |
| January 2025 | Hail | Max | - | Trained spotter reports hail around pea to penny sized. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | Weather link site Parman reported a 62 mph wind gust. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Max | - | The public reported golf ball size hail to the west of Max. |
| May 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Max | - | An off duty NWS Employee reported a tornado to the east of Max and crossing US Highway 34. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Max | - | Major flooding along Avenue 345, near Janicke Rd, south of Road 709. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Max | - | Public report of 2.5 inch hail. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Max | - | Public report of golf ball sized hail. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Max | - | Report received of dime to nickel sized hail at location. |
| May 2023 | Tornado (EFU) | Max | - | Tornado remained over open fields. Reported by spotter. Distance estimated by radar. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Max | - | MPing report. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Max | - | Social media report of baseball sized hail 15 miles north of Benkelman. Baseball sized hail is ongoing, and started about 11. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Max | - | Report from MPing. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | Estimated 50 to 60 mph wind gusts were observed as thunderstorms moved over northern Dundy County. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Max | - | A trained spotter reported dime to nickel sized hail. Nickel sized hail was the most common size. This spotter also reported estimated 50 mph wind gusts. Heavy rain was also reported at the time of the hail. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Max | - | Hail measuring at 2.13 inches was reported as a thunderstorm moved over the location. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | Mesonet station KNEBENKE7 reported a 62 mph wind gust as a linear cluster of storms approached the location. |
| May 2021 | Tornado (EFU) | Max | - | Law enforcement and off-duty NWS employees reported another new, large tornado formed in extreme eastern Dundy County. This tornado continued for around 20 minutes until it roped out in the far northeastern part of the county. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Max | - | The hail ranged from golf ball to tennis ball in size. |
| May 2021 | Tornado (EF2) | Max | - | An EF-2 tornado occurred shortly after the brief EF-0 north of Benkelman. Damage consisted of many broken power poles, a large grove of Elm Trees that were demolished, additional trees that were snapped or uprooted, damage to a residence including loss of shingles, loss of metal roofing panels to a farm outbuilding, a tractor was moved 100 yards, and damage to antique vehicles due to falling tree debris. The tornado moved along Highway 61 for most of its life, snapping more power poles and twisting signs. The tornado seemed to stray slightly west of the highway and continued according to spotter and chaser reports. The tornado eventually ended over open fields. |
| May 2021 | Tornado (EFU) | Max | - | Brief tornado reported by off-duty NWS employees. Occurred around the same time as the Dundy County EF-2 tornado. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Max | - | Pea to penny sized hail reported at the location. |
| August 2020 | Hail | Max | - | Nickel to quarter sized hail reported. |
| August 2020 | Hail | Max | - | Caller reported ongoing hail ranging in size from dime to golf ball for a duration of five minutes. |
| August 2020 | Hail | Max | - | Caller reported various sized hail ranging from pea to nickel in size that lasted for a duration of 10 minutes. |
| August 2020 | Hail | Max | - | Tennis ball sized hail reported via social media with pictures. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Max | - | Dime to penny sized hail reported at the location. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | Structural damage to homes as well as several trees blown down in Max. Tree trunk snapped off half way up the tree and a tree branch roughly 9 inches in diameter broken off a tree. A camper blown on its side against a carport next to the camper. Another carport in town had most of its siding ripped off. A tree was blown down onto a house in town. The west wall of a house in town has the siding torn off of it. An irrigation pivot was destroyed near Max. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | Mesonet site is near the intersection of CR 721 and Avenue 339. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | Estimated wind gusts of 60-70 MPH. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Max | - | Estimated the hail to be the size of ping pong balls. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Max | - | Also received 0.37 of rainfall. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Max | - | Hail ranged from dime to ping-pong in size, also received 0.85 of rainfall. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Max | - | Report relayed via spotter network. |
| June 2012 | Hail | Max | - | Hail was pea to nickel sized. |
| June 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Max | - | Storm chaser reported this second tornado north of Benkelman about 15 minutes after the first tornado. This tornado was west of Highway 61 and also remained over open fields with no known damage. |
| July 2010 | Hail | Max | - | Spotter also reported 0.40 inches of rain in ten minutes. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Max | - | Public report of golf ball size hail relayed via McCook radio station. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Max | - | Mostly smaller hail but a few the size of golfballs. Relayed via NERAIN network. |
| August 2010 | Hail | Max | - | Nearby corn fields were heavily damaged by the combination of wind and hail. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Max | - | Spotter also reported a hail depth of two to four inches, very heavy rainfall and strong winds. |
| August 1998 | Hail | Max | - | Corn was stripped from the Hail. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | Tree branches up to 8 inches in diameter downed. Hail up to 2 inches in diameter fell at Max between 1848 and 1853 MST. |
| July 2022 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Max | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| April 2008 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Max | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Max | - | 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.
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 Max | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4164968 | 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 831092. 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.




