BlockBefore

Shepherd, Montana

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Shepherd census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59079. The Survey maps it on the Huntley quadrangle. 507 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,107 feet above sea level.

Shepherd within Yellowstone County

Population over time

3 figures

Shepherd grew from 262 to 507 between 2000 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
2000262
2010516+254 (+97%)
2020507-9 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 17 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

53 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 53 fires within 5 miles of Shepherd between 2006 and 2020, burning about 186 acres in total. 2 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined40
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Fireworks3
Natural2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Other causes1
Debris and open burning1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
8 September 2017Other causesunder an acreSouthern Land OfficeHWY 312 E@ S 6TH RD
8 September 2017Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreSouthern Land OfficeYEOMAN
8 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouthern Land OfficeBROADVIEW DRIVE
3 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreYellowstone CountyMCGIRL & POWMER ROADS
26 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined64 acresYellowstone CountyISLAND
14 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouthern Land OfficeSHEPHERD & BENGTSON RD
13 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouthern Land OfficeNORTHERN AVE & HEATH ST
23 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined64 acresBillings Field OfficeSHEPHERD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Yellowstone County

Storms near this place

56 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Shepherd in 56 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 39 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 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
August 2019Thunderstorm WindShepherd$2,500,000Significant damage was done to Shepherd schools. There was roof damage and extensive damage to the bus barn. In addition, all the west side windows were broken out from combined hail and wind.
August 2025HailShepherd-From facebook comment.
August 2025HailShepherd-Corrects previous hail report from Shepherd. From facebook comment.
June 2025HailShepherd-Pea to quarter size hail accumulating up to 8 inches.
June 2021HailShepherd-The hail size was mostly dimes but a few were hen egg size.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindShepherd-Multiple 1 to 1.5 foot diameter trees were snapped.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindShepherd-A roof was partially collapsed.
August 2019HailShepherd-The winds were estimated to be 50 to 60 mph.
June 2015Flash FloodShepherd-A very heavy and slow moving thunderstorm resulted in flash flooding just north of Shepherd. Radar estimated 3 to 5 inches of rain fell in about an hours time. Significant amounts of fast moving water flowed across portions of Pleasant Hollow Trail which resulted in some of the road being eroded. In addition, significant amounts of small hail, resembling large snow drifts, piled up in several places.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindShepherd-A 12 inch diameter tree was uprooted. In addition, numerous tree limbs were broken.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindShepherd-Significant tree damage was reported 3 miles north of Huntley.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindShepherd-A garage was destroyed.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindShepherd-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph just north of Shepherd.
June 2011Tornado (EF0)Shepherd-At approximately 930pm, a tornado briefly touched down at a residence 5 miles west of Shepherd. The path of damage was about 50 yards wide and extended to the northeast for about 200 yards. A roof was torn off of a garage and a shed. Debris that was blown into a nearby house caused additional damage to windows and siding. Three power poles in the area sustained damage. In addition, a horse trailer was flipped on its side.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindShepherd-A wet microburst caused crop and tree damage over a 3 square mile area. In addition, several dozen trees were uprooted.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindShepherd-Winds were estimated at 70 mph 20 miles north of Shepherd. A shop door was ripped off, a tree was uprooted and a power line was downed in a yard.
June 2010HailShepherd-Hail damage to a vehicle and estimated winds of 75-80 mph was reported.
May 2007HailShepherd-Quarter to golfball size hail was reported.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindShepherd-Large Cottonwood tree uprooted across Shepherd Road.
June 2003HailShepherd-Dime to nickel sized hail almost covering ground
June 2001Thunderstorm WindShepherd-3 feet diameter trees down
August 1999HailShepherd-Spotter reports of dime size hail in and around Shepherd.
October 1998LightningShepherd-Lightning sparked a fire which burned 3000 big round bales of hay on the Vermilion Ranch.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindShepherd-no account filed
July 2022HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2022HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2022HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2022HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2022HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2022HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2022HailShepherd-no account filed
June 2021HailShepherd-no account filed
June 2021HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2021HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2021HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2020HailShepherd-no account filed
May 2019HailShepherd-no account filed
August 2018HailShepherd-no account filed
May 2016HailShepherd-no account filed
June 2015HailShepherd-no account filed
May 2014HailShepherd-no account filed
May 2013HailShepherd-no account filed
July 2011Funnel CloudShepherd-no account filed
May 2007HailShepherd-no account filed
August 2006HailShepherd-no account filed
August 2006HailShepherd-no account filed
August 2006HailShepherd-no account filed
August 2006HailShepherd-no account filed
June 2003HailShepherd-no account filed
June 2003HailShepherd-no account filed
June 2003HailShepherd-no account filed
May 2002Thunderstorm WindShepherd-no account filed
July 2000HailShepherd-no account filed
July 1998HailShepherd-no account filed
July 1998HailShepherd-no account filed
July 1996HailShepherd-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Yellowstone 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
Huntley3.7 miles17
Cline5.5 miles16
Knox7.6 miles16
Lockwood9.4 miles19
Hirsch9.5 miles19
Worden9.7 miles16
Billings Heights9.8 miles19
Ballantine10.5 miles16

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 ShepherdAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q968444The 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 776471. 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.