BlockBefore

Bowman, North Dakota

5 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1981. It stands in Bowman Township. It lies in ZIP code area 58623. The Survey maps it on the Bowman quadrangle. 1,470 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,963 feet above sea level.

Bowman within Bowman County

On record in Bowman

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Bowman fell from 1,650 to 1,470 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
20101,650
20201,470-180 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 5 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

20 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Bowman between 2005 and 2020, burning about 115 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
Equipment and vehicle use12
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Natural2
Smoking1
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
4 August 2018Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceHONEY BEE HAY FIRE
3 August 2018Equipment and vehicle use25 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServicePOINT REC HAY FIRE
27 August 2017Equipment and vehicle use20 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceSOUTH OF CASHWAY
23 August 2005Natural30 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Servicenot named
2 August 2017Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceDAVE SEPTON
15 August 2006Natural4.2 acresDakota Prairie National GrasslandsMIKES CREEK
11 August 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceDOBITZ TREES FIRE
4 July 2020Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceHAY FIELD FIRE HIGHWAY 85 MILE MARKER 5

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bowman County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Bowman: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 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
John BowmanSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Roy Kern PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Walt BoxethSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Bowman County

Storms near this place

60 of 72 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bowman in 72 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 42 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 4 funnel cloud, 2 lightning. 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
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBowman$400,000Thunderstorm winds blew part of the roof off of the West River Clinic on the southeast side of Bowman. No damage occurred to mobile homes being transported, gas station awnings, campers, or other structures in the area around the clinic. There appeared to be a significant overhang of the roof on that upwind side of the building, where the wind direction and speed caught it just in the right location, to cause the damage. All the debris from the roof blew in a north-northwest direction, with some insulation making it to the Bowman School.
June 2007FloodBowman$400,000Total 5.6 inches of rain was reported over the duration of the rain event. Spring creek was running out of its banks. Water was running across farm roads and fields.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBowman$300,000Farms damaged 9 miles south and 4 miles east of Bowman, 7 south and 3 east of Bowman, and 2 south and 3 east of Bowman. Some damage significant and to grain bins, barns, other outbuildings. and crops.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBowman$250,000A large pole barn building was severely damaged, with the majority of the roofing material and rafters blown off, one wall completely destroyed, and another wall mostly destroyed. The main leg of a grain distribution system was completely blown over, along with the bin distribution pipes. Multiple large grain bins and hopper bins were dented, with one hopper bin completely blown over.
June 2008Flash FloodBowman$50,000Heavy rainfall from an isolated thunderstorm produced flash flooding within the city of Bowman. Water ran through yards and some basement flooding was reported. The rain was so heavy that visibility was reduced to two city blocks.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindBowman$5,000Trees down in Bowman.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBowman-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by Emergency Management.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindBowman-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by the public.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindBowman-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by the Emergency Manager.
May 2018Funnel CloudBowman-A funnel cloud developed in the vicinity of Bowman.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindBowman-Emergency management estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBowman-The public reported the strong thunderstorm wind gusts.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindBowman-A report of a severe wind gust was received.
June 2007HailBowman-Multiple hail reports from the Bowman County Emergency Manager. Hail lasted for about 5 minutes.
July 2006HailBowman-Lots of small hail. Largest stones were penny sized.
June 2005HailBowman-Wind gust to 50 mph accompanied the hail.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBowman-Thunderstorm wind gust measured at the Bowman radar site.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBowman-Pea size hail reported with the storm.
July 2001HailBowman-Reported by ham operator.
August 1998LightningBowman-100 acres burned
July 1998Funnel CloudBowman-Warning sirens were sounded in the city of Bowman but the funnel did not touch down.
August 1998LightningBowman-100 acres destoryed by fire caused by lightning
May 1997Thunderstorm WindBowman-75 MPH WIND
May 2025Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
July 2023HailBowman-no account filed
July 2022HailBowman-no account filed
July 2018HailBowman-no account filed
June 2018HailBowman-no account filed
June 2018HailBowman-no account filed
June 2018HailBowman-no account filed
June 2018HailBowman-no account filed
June 2018HailBowman-no account filed
July 2016HailBowman-no account filed
July 2016HailBowman-no account filed
June 2015HailBowman-no account filed
July 2015HailBowman-no account filed
August 2014Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
September 2013HailBowman-no account filed
September 2013HailBowman-no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
July 2010Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
July 2010HailBowman-no account filed
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
July 2008HailBowman-no account filed
July 2007HailBowman-no account filed
April 2006HailBowman-no account filed
July 2006HailBowman-no account filed
August 2006HailBowman-no account filed
June 2005HailBowman-no account filed
June 2005HailBowman-no account filed
September 2005HailBowman-no account filed
March 2004HailBowman-no account filed
July 2004Funnel CloudBowman-no account filed
July 2004Funnel CloudBowman-no account filed
August 2004HailBowman-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
June 2002HailBowman-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindBowman-no account filed
July 2001HailBowman-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bowman 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
Griffin8.1 miles5
Buffalo Springs8.5 miles5
Scranton13.6 miles5
Rhame14.2 miles5
Gascoyne17.3 miles6
Ives19.2 miles6
Haley21.1 miles6

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 BowmanAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2087899The 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 1028099. 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.