BlockBuffalo Lake, Minnesota
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Buffalo Lake City. It lies in ZIP code area 55314. The Survey maps it on the Buffalo Lake quadrangle. 660 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,070 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresBuffalo Lake fell from 733 to 660 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 | 733 | |
| 2020 | 660 | -73 (-10%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 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.
- 1953 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Buffalo Lake quadrangle1:24000
- 1967 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Glencoe quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Storms near this place
28 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Buffalo Lake in 28 storm reports between 1994 and 2022: 12 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 5 injuries. 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 2003 | Tornado (F2) | Buffalo Lake | 5 hurt, $14,000,000 | This third tornado entered Renville County at 1845 CST and entered the city of Buffalo Lake, where damage was significant. Five people sustained minor injuries. Roofs were blown off the Lutheran Church, as well as a number of homes and businesses. Sheds and garages were blown down, a grain elevator was destroyed, and hundreds of trees were broken. Video and a storm survey determined the tornado was multiple vortex. 29 houses were damaged beyond repair, 51 sustained major damage, and 120 more suffered minor damage. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F1) | Buffalo Lake | $500,000 | This fourth tornado entered Renville County at 1912 CST and hit portions of one farmstead. Sheds, outbuildings and grain bins were damaged, a barn was flattened, and a number of trees were downed. The tornado dissipated before it reached Highway 212. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F1) | Buffalo Lake | $500,000 | The first of five tornadoes to hit the Buffalo Lake area this evening, the tornado hit three farmsteads before crossing into Sibley County at 1755 CST. Trees were knocked down, sheds and outbuildings destroyed, a grain dryer was overturned, a grain bin and silo were destroyed, and houses sustained minor damage. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | $100,000 | A barn, grain bin, and multiple trees were blown down southwest of Buffalo Lake in Renville County. There was also sporadic tree damage from southwest of Buffalo Lake, to the northeast of the city. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | - | Several trees and power lines were blown down down around Buffalo Lake. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | - | There were several reports of downed power lines and trees around the community of Buffalo Lake. |
| June 2013 | Flash Flood | Buffalo Lake | - | Flood waters covered many streets in the Buffalo Lake, Minnesota area. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | - | A large tree was blown down. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | - | Several trees were blown down north and east of Buffalo Lake. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | - | Damage to grain tower, multipal trees toppled. |
| September 2006 | Funnel Cloud | Buffalo Lake | - | Videotaped by law enforcement officer. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Buffalo Lake | - | This second tornado entered Renville County at 1831 CST, then remained nearly stationary in an open field for about 10 minutes. Then it began moving northeast again, crossing Highway 212, then looping back to the south as the tornado roped out. The only damage was to some power lines and transformers. |
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | Buffalo Lake | - | Flooding occurred in the northeastern portion of Renville county. Four to eight inches of rain were common, resulting in some township roads under water. Seven and one half inches of rain was reported5 miles north of Buffalo Lake. Many crops were under water. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | - | Small trees down. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | Hail covered ground. Significant crop damage. |
| August 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Buffalo Lake | - | Large trees down. |
| June 2016 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Buffalo Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Buffalo Lake | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hector | 5.2 miles | 9 | |
| Churchill | 6.3 miles | 9 | |
| Lakeside | 7.4 miles | 9 | |
| Bird Island | 14.9 miles | 10 | |
| Fairfax | 15.4 miles | 9 | |
| Countryview Estates | 16.0 miles | 9 | |
| Olivia | 19.9 miles | 10 | |
| Franklin | 20.1 miles | 12 |
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 Buffalo Lake | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1973207 | 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 640614. 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.
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.