BlockBefore

Downer, Minnesota

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1919 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Elkton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 56514. The Survey maps it on the Downer quadrangle.

Downer within Clay County

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 9 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

4 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Downer between 2006 and 2015, burning about 1,035 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
Equipment and vehicle use2
Debris and open burning1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
1 August 2006Equipment and vehicle use40 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictBJORNSON
22 July 2006Equipment and vehicle use70 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 April 2015Debris and open burning205 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictDOWNER PRAIRIE NORTH
7 October 2010Railroad operations and maintenance720 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictBUFFALO RIVER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Clay County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 21 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 21 workings within 5 miles of Downer: 18 producers, 3 past producers. 18 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Becket and Leach PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Bouton Pit No 1Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Bouton Pit No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Clay County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Clay County Pit No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Grommesh PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kost Brothers No.51 MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kost Pit No 10Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Kost Pit No 11Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kost Pit No 12Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Clay County

Storms near this place

11 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Downer in 11 storm reports between 2002 and 2023: 6 hail, 2 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. 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
July 2011HailDowner$5,000The hail was described as being the size and shape of pears. Wind and wind driven hail completely flattened nearby crops in elkton township.
September 2002Tornado (F1)Downer$1,000A 14x14 foot one thousand pound shed door was torn off a barn and thrown 150 feet on top of a 24 foot high grain bin. Calf pens were also flipped over.
July 2023HailDowner-Property damage with multiple hail pictures suggesting 3 inches or larger possible, based on visual estimates.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindDowner-Large branches were blown down at farmsteads across northern Humboldt Township.
July 2017HailDowner-Hail covered the road east of Downer.
June 2015Tornado (EF0)Downer-The tornado was observed from Interstate 94, where a series of dust plumes were noted.
July 2011HailDowner-Very heavy rain fell along with a few dime to penny sized hail.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindDowner-Tree limbs were blown down.
June 2017HailDowner-no account filed
August 2011Funnel CloudDowner-no account filed
September 2002HailDowner-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Clay 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
Baker4.5 miles24
Barnesville7.9 miles9
Muskoda8.6 miles9
Sabin9.0 miles24
Glyndon9.7 miles23
Hawley12.6 miles8
Rollag13.2 miles11
Rustad13.7 miles22

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 642918. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, 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.