Potter, Nebraska
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Potter precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69156. The Survey maps it on the Potter quadrangle. 342 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,400 feet above sea level.
On record in Potter
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 1 record
- Daniel and Sarah Herboldsheimer Ranchlisted 1990
Population over time
2 figuresPotter grew from 337 to 342 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 | 337 | |
| 2020 | 342 | +5 (+1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 8 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 Scottsbluff quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Scottsbluff quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1972 USGS Potter quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Kimball quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
38 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 38 fires within 5 miles of Potter between 2007 and 2020, burning about 181 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 | 9 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 8 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 8 September 2007 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 27 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 24 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 23 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 22 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 21 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 12 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 89 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Potter in 89 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 54 hail, 15 thunderstorm wind, 12 tornado, 6 flash 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | Flash Flood | Potter | $2,000,000 | Widespread flooding occurred along Lodgepole Creek and Sand Draw from heavy rains upstream in Kimball County. A 7 foot wall of water washed out a 30 foot section of a bridge on U.S. Highway 30 at Potter at 430 am MST. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Potter | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Potter | $30,000 | A line of thunderstorms producing hail up to 2 inches in diameter moved east across Potter into central Cheyenne County north of Interstate 80. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Potter | $30,000 | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Tornado (F1) | Potter | $15,000 | Power poles downed, treetops snapped. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Potter | $10,000 | Penny to nickel sized hail reported. Semi-trailer blown over 5 miles east of Sidney, NE. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Potter | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Potter | $5,000 | Sidney Draw was flowing out of its banks 8 feet deep and 1/4 mile wide, and flowing over county road 8 with other county roads closed. |
| June 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Potter | $5,000 | Tornado skipped along track as it moved SSE over open country in western Cheyenne county, NE.Damage primarily limited to trees. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Potter | $5,000 | A storm produced walnut size hail in Potter. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Potter | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Hail | Potter | - | Cheyenne County EM reported quarter size and pea size hail in Potter. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Storm chaser estimating 60 mph winds with half inch hail. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Potter | - | Law enforcement reported 1 in hail near Potter. |
| July 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Potter | - | Brief landspout ground circulation occurred 11 NNE Potter per multiple videos from the public. No damage occurred or was reported with the landspout as it remained in an open area away from infrastructure. No injuries, no fatalities, and no damage. |
| June 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Potter | - | Storm Chaser reports tornado on the ground briefly. Another report suggests intermittent touch downs. |
| June 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Potter | - | Storm chaser reports tornado touching down again. |
| June 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Potter | - | Storm chaser reports tornado touch down south of Potter around 7 PM. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Potter | - | The public reported golf ball sized hail 13 miles NE of Potter. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Emergency Manager estimated 60 mph winds and pea sized hail in Potter. |
| September 2023 | Hail | Potter | - | A trained spotter reported golf ball sized hail 2 miles west of Potter. |
| September 2023 | Hail | Potter | - | An Emergency Manager reported 1-inch diameter hail in the town of Potter. |
| July 2021 | Hail | Potter | - | Spotter noted that nearby crops were damaged and associated wind gusts from thunderstorm knocked down two power line poles. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Observer's personal use weather station measured the reported wind gust. |
| September 2018 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail was observed at Potter. |
| June 2018 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail was observed northeast of Potter. |
| August 2017 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail was observed northeast of Potter. |
| August 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Potter | - | A weak tornado touched down in open country eight miles north of Potter. The tornado was obscured by heavy rain. The tornado moved east and lifted 10 miles northeast of Potter. No damage was reported. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Estimated 60 mph wind gusts were observed north of Potter. |
| June 2016 | Hail | Potter | - | Nickel to quarter size hail was reported at Potter. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | An estimated wind gust of 60 mph was reported at Potter. |
| June 2016 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail was reported at Potter. |
| July 2016 | Hail | Potter | - | Nickel to quarter size hail covered the ground five miles south of Potter. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail was observed 10 miles northeast of Potter. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail covered the ground 13 miles north of Potter. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail was observed eight miles south of Potter. |
| May 2014 | Flash Flood | Potter | - | Flash flooding was observed along Lodgepole Creek, with six or more inches of water over Highway 30 east of Potter. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Wind gusts were estimated near 60 mph in Potter. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Potter | - | Quarter size hail was observed a few miles west of Potter. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Estimated wind gusts of 60 mph were observed a few miles west of Potter. |
| July 2013 | Hail | Potter | - | Dime to quarter size hail was reported northeast of Potter. |
| July 2012 | Flash Flood | Potter | - | County Road 73 was partially washed out between County Roads 12 and 13. |
| May 2012 | Funnel Cloud | Potter | - | A funnel cloud was sighted south of Potter. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Semi trailer blown over on Interstate 80. Emergency manager believes it was down burst wind. |
| June 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Potter | - | A trained spotter reported rope tornado over open range with no damage. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Two large pine trees blown down by straight line winds. |
| June 2011 | Flash Flood | Potter | - | Intersection of Highway 30 and County Road 26 flooded and impassable. |
| June 2011 | Flash Flood | Potter | - | Flash flooding east of town at Point of Rocks. |
| July 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Potter | - | Tornado reported on ground near Road 12 south of Potter by public. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Potter | - | Farmer said he probably lost his wheat crop. |
| July 2010 | Hail | Potter | - | Hail fell from 5 PM to 520 PM. |
| May 2010 | Hail | Potter | - | Hail is dime to half dollar size. |
| June 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | Potter | - | Tornado briefly touched down, then dissipated. |
| June 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Potter | - | Weak tornado reported to have briefly touched down over open country. |
| August 2003 | Hail | Potter | - | Penny to nickle size hail reported. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Potter | - | 2 3/4 inch hail reported 4 miles north of Potter, NE |
| July 1999 | Hail | Potter | - | 3/4 inch hail fell 1 mile north of Potter, NE |
| June 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Potter | - | Brief touchdown in open country. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Potter | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point of Rocks | 3.7 miles | 8 | |
| Mount Vernon | 9.8 miles | 8 | |
| Brownson | 10.9 miles | 8 | |
| Ordville (historical) | 11.1 miles | 8 | |
| Lorenzo | 17.6 miles | 8 | |
| Huntsman | 18.1 miles | 11 | |
| Sidney | 18.6 miles | 11 | |
| Gurley | 19.7 miles | 11 |
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 Potter | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2606007 | 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 832328. 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.



