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Lake Benton, Minnesota

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Lake Benton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 56149. The Survey maps it on the Lake Benton quadrangle. 687 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,762 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Lake Benton within Lincoln County

On record in Lake Benton

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 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Lake Benton grew from 683 to 687 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
2010683
2020687+4 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 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.

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Lake Benton: 2 producers. All of them 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
Jasperson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Lake Benton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Lincoln County

Storms near this place

60 of 67 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Benton in 67 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 28 thunderstorm wind, 26 hail, 9 flood, 2 tornado. 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
October 1996Thunderstorm WindLake Benton$200,000no account filed
July 2002HailLake Benton$100,000Large hail caused damage to windows, vehicles, and crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.
June 1997HailLake Benton$100,000Large hail devastated crops in most of Lincoln County. An estimated 180 thousand acres of crops were affected, with 80 thousand acres totally destroyed.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindLake Benton$100,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage and other minor property damage in much of Lincoln County.
April 2004HailLake Benton$100,000no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindLake Benton$100,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Benton$20,000no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindLake Benton$10,000Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous power lines along U.S. Highway 14, and caused tree damage.
September 2019FloodLake Benton$5,000After excessive two-day rainfall during September 10-12 (8.93 inches at Flandreau and 8.64 inches near Pipestone), Flandreau Creek near Flandreau (gage site FCRS2) reached the highest stage on record of 5.46 feet above flood stage on September 12. Numerous township and county roads were inundated by water, as well as significant amounts of agricultural land.
June 2001Tornado (F1)Lake Benton$2,000A tornado which formed just west of the state line crossed into Minnesota and immediately destroyed two outbuildings on a farm near highway 14. Debris from the outbuildings was stretched over one and a half miles.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured at the Minnesota Road Weather Information System site near Lake Benton, with a peak gust of 64 mph at 1928 CST.
June 2024FloodLake Benton-Flandreau Creek near Flandreau rose above flood stage the morning of June 22nd, cresting around 2.46 feet above flood stage (11.46 feet) on June 22nd. This crest is in the Moderate Stage. The creek then fell below flood stage on the afternoon of June 24th. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for Lincoln County.
April 2023FloodLake Benton-Flandreau Creek near Flandeau, SD rose above flood stage on the early morning of April 9th before cresting around 0.28 feet above flood stage (9.28 feet) on April 9th. The creek then quickly fell below flood stage midday on April 9th.
July 2023HailLake Benton-Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-A thunderstorm wind gust of 68 mph was measured by Minnesota Road Weather Information System site MN027 1 mile west-northwest of Lake Benton.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-A thunderstorm wind gust of 62 mph was measured by Minnesota Road Weather Information System site MN027 1 mile west-northwest of Lake Benton.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Large sections of the roof on a single-family home were blown off by thunderstorm winds.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-A thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph was measured by Minnesota Road Weather Information System site MN027 1 mile west-northwest of Lake Benton.
May 2019FloodLake Benton-Flandreau Creek near Flandreau (gage site FCRS2) reached a crest of 0.20 feet above flood stage on May 28. The main impact was inundation of agricultural land and additional delays to spring planting in the flood plain.
March 2019FloodLake Benton-Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 2.22 inches at Flandreau and 1.70 inches at Pipestone) resulted in extensive flooding of agricultural land and inundation of the city golf course in Flandreau. Flandreau Creek above Flandreau (gage site FCRS2) crested 1.88 feet above flood stage on March 28.
April 2018FloodLake Benton-Snow melt and runoff from periods of heavier rainfall briefly produced minor flooding with significant impact to lowland agricultural areas and inundated sections of the Flandreau golf course. River levels reached 1.1 feet above flood stage on Flandreau Creek near Flandreau (gage site FCRS2) on April 23.
June 2018FloodLake Benton-A week of periodic heavy rainfall ending June 26 resulted in a widespread 2 to 5 inches of rainfall, much of which occurred on June 20 and 24. Weekly rainfall totals reached 4.08 inches 6 miles east of Ivanhoe. Minor flooding occurred with significant amounts of crop and pasture land inundated as Flandreau Creek near Flandreau (gage site FCRS2) crested 1.2 feet above flood stage on June 26. The river dropped below flood stage on June 27.
July 2018FloodLake Benton-Crop and pasture land was inundated as levels on Flandreau Creek climbed to 1.8 feet above flood stage above Flandreau (gage site FCRS2) on July 1. After dropping briefly below flood stage, the river returned above flood stage with moderate flooding 2.1 feet above flood stage on July 4.
September 2018FloodLake Benton-Crop and pasture land was inundated, as well as portions of the Flandreau Golf Course, as levels on Flandreau Creek above Flandreau climbed to 1.1 feet above flood stage (gage site FCRS2) on September 21. The river returned quickly below flood stage on September 22.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Measured by Mesonet Station MN028.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Multiple tree branches were downed by strong winds.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Large evergreen was snapped off at the ground.
July 2016Heavy RainLake Benton-Rainfall of 2.84 inches was measured in less than 3 hours.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power poles.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm winds caused an unknown amount of tree damage.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous branches blown down.
May 2012HailLake Benton-Large hail was accompanied by heavy rain.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including branches around 4 inches in diameter blown down. The winds were accompanied by nickel size hail.
July 2011HailLake Benton-Nickel size hail was accompanied by damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2006HailLake Benton-Large hail was mostly nickel size with a few larger stones.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm winds snapped off a blade of a wind turbine.
May 2002Flash FloodLake Benton-Fields and roads were flooded after heavy rain.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm winds caused an unknown amount of tree damage.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Lake Benton-A brief tornado caused no reported damage or injuries.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-Thunderstorm winds overturned a pontoon boat.
July 2023HailLake Benton-no account filed
July 2023HailLake Benton-no account filed
July 2023HailLake Benton-no account filed
August 2017HailLake Benton-no account filed
July 2017Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-no account filed
August 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-no account filed
August 2008HailLake Benton-no account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-no account filed
September 2006HailLake Benton-no account filed
April 2005HailLake Benton-no account filed
June 2005HailLake Benton-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-no account filed
April 2004HailLake Benton-no account filed
June 2003HailLake Benton-no account filed
June 2003Thunderstorm WindLake Benton-no account filed
May 2002HailLake Benton-no account filed
April 2002HailLake Benton-no account filed
June 2001HailLake Benton-no account filed
July 2001HailLake Benton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lincoln 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
Verdi5.0 miles8
Tyler8.2 miles8
Arco10.1 miles8
Ivanhoe14.1 miles8
Wilno16.7 miles8
Hendricks18.5 miles8

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 Lake BentonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1007020The 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 646331. 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.

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.