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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.

Max within Dundy County

Population over time

2 figures

Max 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.

YearPeople Change
201057
202050-7 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 7 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.

Fires near this place

6 since 2007

Regional 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/undetermined2
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Debris and open burning1

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
7 August 2012Equipment and vehicle use500 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
5 August 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
19 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
3 July 2007Natural15 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 July 2007Natural10 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
11 May 2008Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Every fire recorded in Dundy County

Storms near this place

60 of 76 shown

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2011Tornado (EF0)Max$35,000Storm 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 2023Thunderstorm WindMax$1,000Strong winds blew majority of a barn roof off. Time and wind speed are estimated based on radar and local observations.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindMax$1,000A mature pine tree was reported to be blown over.
January 2025HailMax-Trained spotter reports hail around pea to penny sized.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMax-Weather link site Parman reported a 62 mph wind gust.
May 2025HailMax-The public reported golf ball size hail to the west of Max.
May 2025Tornado (EFU)Max-An off duty NWS Employee reported a tornado to the east of Max and crossing US Highway 34.
June 2024FloodMax-Major flooding along Avenue 345, near Janicke Rd, south of Road 709.
May 2024HailMax-Public report of 2.5 inch hail.
May 2024HailMax-Public report of golf ball sized hail.
August 2023HailMax-Report received of dime to nickel sized hail at location.
May 2023Tornado (EFU)Max-Tornado remained over open fields. Reported by spotter. Distance estimated by radar.
June 2023HailMax-MPing report.
June 2023HailMax-Social media report of baseball sized hail 15 miles north of Benkelman. Baseball sized hail is ongoing, and started about 11.
May 2022HailMax-Report from MPing.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindMax-Estimated 50 to 60 mph wind gusts were observed as thunderstorms moved over northern Dundy County.
June 2022HailMax-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 2022HailMax-Hail measuring at 2.13 inches was reported as a thunderstorm moved over the location.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindMax-Mesonet station KNEBENKE7 reported a 62 mph wind gust as a linear cluster of storms approached the location.
May 2021Tornado (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 2021HailMax-The hail ranged from golf ball to tennis ball in size.
May 2021Tornado (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 2021Tornado (EFU)Max-Brief tornado reported by off-duty NWS employees. Occurred around the same time as the Dundy County EF-2 tornado.
June 2020HailMax-Pea to penny sized hail reported at the location.
August 2020HailMax-Nickel to quarter sized hail reported.
August 2020HailMax-Caller reported ongoing hail ranging in size from dime to golf ball for a duration of five minutes.
August 2020HailMax-Caller reported various sized hail ranging from pea to nickel in size that lasted for a duration of 10 minutes.
August 2020HailMax-Tennis ball sized hail reported via social media with pictures.
June 2020HailMax-Dime to penny sized hail reported at the location.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindMax-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 2016Thunderstorm WindMax-Mesonet site is near the intersection of CR 721 and Avenue 339.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindMax-Estimated wind gusts of 60-70 MPH.
July 2015HailMax-Estimated the hail to be the size of ping pong balls.
May 2013HailMax-Also received 0.37 of rainfall.
May 2013HailMax-Hail ranged from dime to ping-pong in size, also received 0.85 of rainfall.
May 2013HailMax-Report relayed via spotter network.
June 2012HailMax-Hail was pea to nickel sized.
June 2011Tornado (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 2010HailMax-Spotter also reported 0.40 inches of rain in ten minutes.
June 2010HailMax-Public report of golf ball size hail relayed via McCook radio station.
June 2010HailMax-Mostly smaller hail but a few the size of golfballs. Relayed via NERAIN network.
August 2010HailMax-Nearby corn fields were heavily damaged by the combination of wind and hail.
July 2009HailMax-Spotter also reported a hail depth of two to four inches, very heavy rainfall and strong winds.
August 1998HailMax-Corn was stripped from the Hail.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindMax-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 2022HailMax-no account filed
August 2017HailMax-no account filed
April 2017Thunderstorm WindMax-no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindMax-no account filed
August 2014HailMax-no account filed
June 2013HailMax-no account filed
May 2012HailMax-no account filed
May 2012HailMax-no account filed
August 2011HailMax-no account filed
June 2010HailMax-no account filed
June 2009Thunderstorm WindMax-no account filed
June 2009HailMax-no account filed
April 2008HailMax-no account filed
June 2007HailMax-no account filed
May 2007HailMax-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dundy 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
Benkelman8.2 miles7
Rainbow Fountain Park8.2 miles7
Ough15.5 miles7
Parks17.8 miles7
Lamont28.7 miles7
Haigler29.3 miles7
Sanborn33.0 miles9

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 MaxAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4164968The 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.