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Medicine Lake, Montana

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1948 and the latest in 1958. It stands in the Medicine Lake census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59247. The Survey maps it on the Alkali Coulee quadrangle. 244 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,959 feet above sea level.

Medicine Lake within Sheridan County

Population over time

2 figures

Medicine Lake grew from 225 to 244 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
2010225
2020244+19 (+8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 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

8 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Medicine Lake between 1994 and 2014, burning about 371 acres in total. 4 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
Natural4
Equipment and vehicle use2
Debris and open burning1
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
24 August 2006Natural1.3 acresMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeWEST HWY 16
2 August 2000Natural30 acresMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeDNCWF
1 August 1994Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeRANGER
20 July 2014Debris and open burning82 acresMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeLODAHL COULEE
2 July 1996Natural1.5 acresMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeWILD BONE
10 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeCOOK
3 June 1997Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeMOTORHOME
13 April 2006Natural255 acresMedicine Lake National Wildlife RefugeSOUTH LAKE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Sheridan County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Medicine Lake: 4 unknowns, 1 producer, 1 occurrence. 1 still produces. 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
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Medicine Lake PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Unnamed Sand & GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence

Every working recorded in Sheridan County

Storms near this place

33 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Medicine Lake in 33 storm reports between 1999 and 2026: 19 thunderstorm wind, 14 hail. 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
September 2014Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake$25,000A semi-truck was blown over due to the strong microbust winds within the squall line of thunderstorms that moved through. Other minor damage was reported in the area as well to homes and farm outbuildings.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake$10,000A microburst caused from the outflow of dying thunderstorms south of the area caused a 107 year old barn to collapse. Observations from a RAWS site 8 miles away had a peak wind of 44 mph. No other structures on the farm were damaged.|
April 2026Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-The Medicine Lake W Montana Climate Office mesonet site (MEDM8) recorded a 64 mph wind gust.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-The Medicine Lake W Montana Climate Office mesonet site (MEDM8) recorded a 71 mph wind gust.
July 2022HailMedicine Lake-A trained spotter reported hail up to the size of golf balls.
July 2022HailMedicine Lake-Public reported, via Facebook, hail up to the size of quarters.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Trained spotter reported a 12-inch diameter tree broke in half. Wind speed estimated.
July 2019HailMedicine Lake-Trained spotter reported quarter size hail.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-The Medicine Lake RAWS site recorded a 69 mph wind gust. Time estimated by radar.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-The Medicine Lake RAWS site recorded a 76 mph wind gust. Time estimated.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Public reported 85 mph winds.
September 2014HailMedicine Lake-Trained spotter reported quarter-sized hail.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Trained spotter estimated wind gusts up to 60 mph.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Spotter estimated wind gusts up to 60 mph and reported shingles blowing off their roof.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Spotter estimated winds of at least 60 mph and reported a broken 2.5-inch diameter tree limb.
July 2010HailMedicine Lake-Quarter size hail was observed with a 70 mph wind.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Very strong winds accompanied the storm. NWS damage survey found evidence of wind blown debris in the Medicine Lake area.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Pea size hail and heavy rain also occurred.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-Medicine Lake Raws.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-The wind was accompanied by heavy rainfall.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-The strong wind lasted for approximately 30 minutes.
July 2008HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
June 2005HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
June 2005HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
June 2005HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-no account filed
July 2005HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-no account filed
August 2002HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindMedicine Lake-no account filed
July 2001HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
June 2000HailMedicine Lake-no account filed
July 1999HailMedicine Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sheridan 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
Homestead5.8 miles8
Reserve7.6 miles6
Rock Crossing8.4 miles7
Antelope13.2 miles6
Dagmar17.2 miles6
Volmer19.0 miles6
Plentywood19.1 miles4
Midby (historical)20.7 miles4

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 Medicine LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q959043The 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 774077. 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.