BlockBefore

Willmar, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Willmar City. It lies in ZIP code area 56201. The Survey maps it on the Willmar quadrangle. 21,015 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,142 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Willmar within Kandiyohi County

On record in Willmar

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 10 records

Population over time

2 figures

Willmar grew from 19,610 to 21,015 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
201019,610
202021,015+1,405 (+7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

4 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Willmar in 2000, burning about 44 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 use4

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
28 September 2000Equipment and vehicle use12 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 September 2000Equipment and vehicle use12 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
20 October 2000Equipment and vehicle use15 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 October 2000Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kandiyohi 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 Willmar: 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
Olson Pit No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Kandiyohi County

Storms near this place

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Willmar in 70 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 31 hail, 20 thunderstorm wind, 7 heavy rain, 4 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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
June 1997Thunderstorm WindWillmar1 hurtLarge tree blown onto hood of car. One passenger injured.
August 2016Flash FloodWillmar$250,000Several rounds of very heavy rainfall caused significant flooding in the town of Willmar. The first two rounds of heavy rainfall added up to locally 4-6 inches by 9 PM CST. Significant runoff caused some roads to close with basement flooding.
July 2017LightningWillmar$20,000Early Wednesday morning, a lightning bolt struck a house in south Willmar. The lightning traveled inside the roof line of the home, which caused the insulation to catch fire. The house suffered considerable smoke damage, along with some water damage from the hoses. pitched roof.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWillmar$20,000Scattered trees down in a swath that extended to Atwater. Church under construction in Spicer blown down.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWillmar-There were multiple reports of tree damage in the city of Willmar.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Large branches were down on the southwest side of Willmar.
June 2024Funnel CloudWillmar-Photo of funnel cloud submitted through social media. Time estimated via radar.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Numerous trees were blown down or uprooted in the city of Willmar.
May 2022HailWillmar-There was a social media picture of 1.25 inch hail.
May 2022HailWillmar-There was a social media picture of golf ball size hail.
May 2022HailWillmar-There was a social media picture of 3 inch hail.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Several large tree branches were blown down in the city of Willmar.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Local officials reported several trees blown down in the city of Willmar.
June 2017HailWillmar-Hail was reported by KWLM Radio.
August 2016Heavy RainWillmar-A trained spotter measured 7.23 inches of rain in Willmar.
August 2016Heavy RainWillmar-A trained spotter measured 7.87 inches of rain north of Willmar.
August 2016Heavy RainWillmar-A trained spotter measured 7.90 inches of rain southwest of Willmar.
August 2016Heavy RainWillmar-A trained spotter measured 8.09 inches of rain north of Willmar.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindWillmar-A large tree was blown down in southwest Willmar.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWillmar-A large tree was toppled in Willmar.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Several large tree limbs were blown down.
June 2012Heavy RainWillmar-An observer measured 3.43 inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
June 2012Heavy RainWillmar-An observer measured 3.30 inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
March 2009FloodWillmar-Some roads partially covered in Willmar. Some low lying township roads north of Willmar covered with water.
August 2007Flash FloodWillmar-Heavy rain led to water on sevetral streets and a stalled car. A basement wall collapsed in a residential structure.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Tree down.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Shed lost part of roof and wall.
September 2006HailWillmar-Occurred on south side of city.
September 2005Heavy RainWillmar-Low lying intersections in town were covered by water.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindWillmar-A county official recorded a wind gust of of 74 MPH on the north side of town. A woman driving on Gorton Ave. had her windows blown out.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindWillmar-A measured wind gust of 64 MPH was reported by the media. Branches were downed.
June 2003Flash FloodWillmar-County wide flooding. Four to eight inches were common across the region, with a number of county and township roads under water. Basements were flooded in the city of Kandiyohi, along with 12 blocks under water in Atwater. A number of cars were stalled due to flooding in a corridor from Wilmar to Atwater. Many crops were also under water.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Willmar-This was the last tornado associated with the complex that produced the Benson F2 tornado. The storm had travelled along Highway 212 from Danvers to Benson to Kandiyohi, producing numerous tornadoes, hail, and strong wind gusts.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Windspeed measured at KWLM/KQIC radio.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed.
July 1998LightningWillmar-House destroyed by fire caused by lightning strike.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Trees and power lines down. Estimated windspeed.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Roof off building. Estimated windspeed.
July 1997Tornado (F1)Willmar-Tornado left a one mile track of damage on the south and southeast sides of Willmar. Warehouse destroyed. Roof damage to motel.
July 1997Tornado (F1)Willmar-Tornado touched down on Eagle Lake and moved ashore approximately one half mile. Several cabins and boat docks damaged.
June 1997Flash FloodWillmar-Streets flooded. Cars stranded.
July 1995HailWillmar-Ground was white with an average of 40 hailstones per square foot. Extensive crop damage.
August 1995Thunderstorm WindWillmar-Trees and power lines down.
May 2015HailWillmar-no account filed
May 2015HailWillmar-no account filed
April 2015HailWillmar-no account filed
July 2014HailWillmar-no account filed
July 2014HailWillmar-no account filed
May 2012HailWillmar-no account filed
May 2012HailWillmar-no account filed
May 2012HailWillmar-no account filed
June 2012HailWillmar-no account filed
July 2010HailWillmar-no account filed
June 2005HailWillmar-no account filed
September 2005HailWillmar-no account filed
April 2002HailWillmar-no account filed
April 2002HailWillmar-no account filed
April 2002HailWillmar-no account filed
July 2002HailWillmar-no account filed
May 2002HailWillmar-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kandiyohi 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
Parkwood Estates2.3 miles10
Kandiyohi6.0 miles10
Priam6.4 miles9
Pennock7.3 miles9
Svea8.3 miles10
Spicer9.4 miles10
Norway Lake12.2 miles8
Blomkest12.4 miles9

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 WillmarAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1986492The 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 654177. 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.