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Wendell, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Stony Brook Township. It lies in ZIP code area 56590. The Survey maps it on the Wendell quadrangle. 166 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,145 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Wendell within Grant County

Population over time

2 figures

Wendell fell from 167 to 166 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
2010167
2020166-1 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 10 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

6 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Wendell between 2000 and 2011, burning about 206 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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/undetermined4
Debris and open burning1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
5 June 2009Debris and open burning10 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictGERMUDNSON WILD FIRE
21 May 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictMUD LAKE
26 April 2011Arson/incendiarism160 acresDetroit Lakes Wetland Management DistrictSHAY
26 April 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined22 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictFOSS
21 April 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictSTONY BROOK (BARN)
26 March 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresFergus Falls Wetland Management DistrictLILLEMOEN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Grant County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Wendell: 1 producer. 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
Banach PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Grant County

Storms near this place

48 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wendell in 48 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 17 thunderstorm wind, 16 hail, 5 flood, 4 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2022Tornado (EF2)Wendell$1,000,000This tornado was wrapped in damaging downburst winds and rain as it rapidly tracked to the northeast for about 11 miles, ending around 4.3 miles NNE of Elbow Lake by 424 pm CDT. Numerous ash, spruce, cottonwood, and willow trees were snapped or uprooted. Numerous wooden power poles were snapped Numerous farm outbuilding and steel grain bins were destroyed, with roofing and wall panels carried downwind for a mile or more. Max winds were 115 mph, with a max width to 400 yards.
October 1997Thunderstorm WindWendell$50,000Two metal grain bins were blown across Highway 55 and into a field. Three others were blown into a shelterbelt.
March 2019FloodWendell$50,000no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWendell$20,000A few large tree branches and tree limbs were broken down in farmsteads and shelterbelts across Lawrence and North Ottawa townships.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindWendell$15,000A trailer home was flipped over in the strong wind at Lightning Lake.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindWendell$10,000Large tree limbs were blown down throughout the northwest portion of Grant County.
March 2009FloodWendell$5,000no account filed
April 2009FloodWendell$5,000no account filed
August 2008HailWendell$5,000no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWendell$1,000A power pole was broken down by falling tree limbs, which caused widespread power outages in northwest Lawrence township. Wind driven hail also produced areas of crop damage.
May 2023HailWendell-Grant county FD reports quarter-size hail.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWendell-Empty grain bins were partially caved in at Lacey Ridge Farm.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWendell-Public report of large tree branches down and a snapped tree.
July 2021HailWendell-Golf ball sized hail reported, along with damaged shingles.
August 2020Funnel CloudWendell-The funnel extended about half way down from the cloud base.
August 2020Tornado (EF0)Wendell-This tornado was the third of five tornadoes in Grant County. The tornado tracked mainly over open fields and pasture land. A slight marking was noted in a field via video and a storm damage survey team. Peak winds were estimated at 70 mph.
September 2017HailWendell-The hail fell with very heavy rain.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindWendell-Numerous large four to eight inch diameter tree branches were broken down in shelterbelts and farmsteads across northern Lawrence and Stony Brook townships.
July 2015Tornado (EF0)Wendell-There were multiple sightings of this tornado as it tracked along the Grant and Otter Tail county line. The tornado touched down intermittently along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWendell-A few large tree branches and tree limbs were broken down around town.
July 2011HailWendell-Very heavy rain fell with a few quarter to half dollar sized hailstones.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWendell-Branches were blown down and the steel on a shed was pealed up.
August 2010Tornado (EF1)Wendell-This tornado tracked intermittently for nearly 16 miles, to about 3 miles east of Erdahl. At this point, it continued into Douglas County. The tornado broke down numerous trees and large tree limbs along its path. At times, the tornado was wrapped in very heavy rains. Peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.
September 2008HailWendell-A brief burst of pea to nickel sized hail occurred roughly a mile north of highway 55 in western Lawrence Township.
June 2007FloodWendell-Many rural roads were flooded by the heavy rain.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindWendell-Trees and power lines were blown down and a garage was damaged.
July 2005Flash FloodWendell-Water overtopped a portion of county road 40 near the Rabbit Creek in extreme northwest Grant County.
June 2005Flash FloodWendell-Fields and farm access roads were flooded.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWendell-10 inch diameter trees were blown down.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindWendell-Large tree branches were blown down.
June 2003Flash FloodWendell-Street flooding was reported.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindWendell-The west door of a shed was blown in and pieces of roof were scattered for a third of a mile into a field.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindWendell-Large tree limbs were blown down.
June 2001Flash FloodWendell-The railroad tracks were under water.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWendell-The strong wind collapsed a barn and blew down some trees.
July 2015Funnel CloudWendell-no account filed
August 2013HailWendell-no account filed
April 2011FloodWendell-no account filed
July 2011HailWendell-no account filed
June 2010HailWendell-no account filed
September 2007HailWendell-no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindWendell-no account filed
June 2003HailWendell-no account filed
July 2003HailWendell-no account filed
July 2003HailWendell-no account filed
July 2003HailWendell-no account filed
August 2002HailWendell-no account filed
August 1996HailWendell-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Grant 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
Hereford (historical)2.6 miles9
Elbow Lake7.2 miles10
Thorsborg (historical)11.2 miles10
Norcross12.6 miles10
Barrett14.1 miles10
Erdahl15.3 miles10
Ashby15.5 miles13
Herman15.8 miles10

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 WendellAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2210686The 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 653909. 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.