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.
Population over time
3 figuresShepherd 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 262 | |
| 2010 | 516 | +254 (+97%) |
| 2020 | 507 | -9 (-2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 17 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1893 USGS Huntley quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1954 USGS Billings quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Huntley quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Billings quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Billings quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Billings quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
53 since 2006Regional 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/undetermined | 40 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Fireworks | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2017 | Other causes | under an acre | Southern Land Office | HWY 312 E@ S 6TH RD |
| 8 September 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Southern Land Office | YEOMAN |
| 8 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Southern Land Office | BROADVIEW DRIVE |
| 3 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Yellowstone County | MCGIRL & POWMER ROADS |
| 26 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 64 acres | Yellowstone County | ISLAND |
| 14 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Southern Land Office | SHEPHERD & BENGTSON RD |
| 13 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Southern Land Office | NORTHERN AVE & HEATH ST |
| 23 August 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 64 acres | Billings Field Office | SHEPHERD |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
56 since 1996Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | $2,500,000 | Significant 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 2025 | Hail | Shepherd | - | From facebook comment. |
| August 2025 | Hail | Shepherd | - | Corrects previous hail report from Shepherd. From facebook comment. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Shepherd | - | Pea to quarter size hail accumulating up to 8 inches. |
| June 2021 | Hail | Shepherd | - | The hail size was mostly dimes but a few were hen egg size. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | Multiple 1 to 1.5 foot diameter trees were snapped. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | A roof was partially collapsed. |
| August 2019 | Hail | Shepherd | - | The winds were estimated to be 50 to 60 mph. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Shepherd | - | 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 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | A 12 inch diameter tree was uprooted. In addition, numerous tree limbs were broken. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | Significant tree damage was reported 3 miles north of Huntley. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | A garage was destroyed. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph just north of Shepherd. |
| June 2011 | Tornado (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 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | A wet microburst caused crop and tree damage over a 3 square mile area. In addition, several dozen trees were uprooted. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | 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 2010 | Hail | Shepherd | - | Hail damage to a vehicle and estimated winds of 75-80 mph was reported. |
| May 2007 | Hail | Shepherd | - | Quarter to golfball size hail was reported. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | Large Cottonwood tree uprooted across Shepherd Road. |
| June 2003 | Hail | Shepherd | - | Dime to nickel sized hail almost covering ground |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | 3 feet diameter trees down |
| August 1999 | Hail | Shepherd | - | Spotter reports of dime size hail in and around Shepherd. |
| October 1998 | Lightning | Shepherd | - | Lightning sparked a fire which burned 3000 big round bales of hay on the Vermilion Ranch. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| May 2019 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Funnel Cloud | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Shepherd | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntley | 3.7 miles | 17 | |
| Cline | 5.5 miles | 16 | |
| Knox | 7.6 miles | 16 | |
| Lockwood | 9.4 miles | 19 | |
| Hirsch | 9.5 miles | 19 | |
| Worden | 9.7 miles | 16 | |
| Billings Heights | 9.8 miles | 19 | |
| Ballantine | 10.5 miles | 16 |
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 Shepherd | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q968444 | The 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.





