BlockBefore

Watertown, Minnesota

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Watertown City. It lies in ZIP code area 55388. The Survey maps it on the Watertown quadrangle. 4,659 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 935 feet above sea level.

Watertown within Carver County

Population over time

2 figures

Watertown grew from 4,205 to 4,659 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
20104,205
20204,659+454 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 12 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

3 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Watertown between 2006 and 2019, burning about 129 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
12 June 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined16 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 March 2017Equipment and vehicle use60 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 October 2006Equipment and vehicle use52 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Carver County

Storms near this place

43 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Watertown in 43 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 21 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 2 heavy rain. 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 2010HailWatertown$1,500,000Several trained spotters reported numerous dime, up to baseball size hail from north of Watertown, southeast to the southeast part of Watertown. Damage was extensive to crops and homes throughout the area.
September 2019Tornado (EF0)Watertown$25,000A NWS Storm Survey determined an EF0 tornado developed east of Watertown near County Road 20, and moved southeast into Hennepin County, north of Timber Creek Golf Course. Most of the damage was consistent with EF0 damage with numerous trees blown down or uprooted along its path. The path length in Carver County was 1.3 miles, with a maximum width of 90 yards. The tornado was also confirmed by the MPX radar in real time given the Tornado Debris Signature sampled by the radar.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindWatertown$25,000A roof was blown off a barn west of Watertown. In addition, several trees and power lines were blown down in Watertown. One power pole was blown down on a car and damaged it.
June 2024Heavy RainWatertown-The storm total was 3.1 inches of rainfall.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Several trees and power lines were downed, with one partially blocking a road.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Several large trees and power lines were blown down in the city of Watertown.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Several large tree branches were blown down southeast of Watertown on Nike Road.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindWatertown-A large tree was blown down in Watertown.
March 2010FloodWatertown-Mill Avenue at the 400 Block in Watertown was closed due to flooding. In addition, County Road 122 between County Road 123 and Highway 7 was closed due to flooding.
August 2009Heavy RainWatertown-An off duty NWS employee measured 2.44 inches of rainfall overnight.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Trees toppled on the north edge of town, with 4 to 6 inch branches down in the central part of Watertown.
June 2007HailWatertown-The Carver County News described one report of baseball size hail (2.75 inch), but this was unconfirmed. Hail damaged houses, vehicles, and area crops.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWatertown-A trained spotter downtown recorded a 62 MPH wind gust. A gust of 56 MPH was recorded at Watertown-Mayer High School just northwest of town. Large tree limbs were downed onto Westminster Avenue south of Madison Street. Another large limb was downed onto vehicles on Angel Avenue SW. The roof of a shed was blown off along Tacoma Avenue in Hollywood Township, three miles southwest of Watertown.
June 2002Flash FloodWatertown-Three to four inches of rain covered roads and resulted in a number of basements with water.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Large tree limb down in street.
June 2001HailWatertown-Many homes and vehicles damaged.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Few trees toppled and large branches felled. Winds estimated.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Large tree blown down. Estimated windspeed.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Several large trees blown onto houses.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Large branches down. Estimated windspeed.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Two garages blown down. Estimated windspeed.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Trees and power lines were blown down by strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2023HailWatertown-no account filed
August 2019HailWatertown-no account filed
August 2019HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2018HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2012HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2012HailWatertown-no account filed
June 2012HailWatertown-no account filed
June 2012HailWatertown-no account filed
July 2009HailWatertown-no account filed
August 2007HailWatertown-no account filed
August 2007HailWatertown-no account filed
September 2007HailWatertown-no account filed
June 2007HailWatertown-no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindWatertown-no account filed
July 2006HailWatertown-no account filed
June 2002HailWatertown-no account filed
July 2002HailWatertown-no account filed
June 2002HailWatertown-no account filed
September 2002HailWatertown-no account filed
July 1997Flash FloodWatertown-no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindWatertown-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Carver 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
Hazelton5.6 miles11
Mayer5.8 miles11
Maple5.9 miles12
Hollywood7.7 miles11
Waconia8.4 miles12
New Germany8.5 miles11
Coney Island8.8 miles12
Hydes Lake10.0 miles12

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 WatertownAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1755519The 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 653835. 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.