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Wahpeton, North Dakota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Wahpeton City. It lies in ZIP code area 58075. The Survey maps it on the Wahpeton quadrangle. 8,007 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 965 feet above sea level.

Wahpeton within Richland County

On record in Wahpeton

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 5 records

Population over time

2 figures

Wahpeton grew from 7,766 to 8,007 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
20107,766
20208,007+241 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 11 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

7 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Wahpeton between 2016 and 2020, burning about 9 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
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Fireworks2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
21 August 2020Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceMASONITE
4 July 2017Fireworks1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service1378
2 July 2016Fireworks1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service7022016
1 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreNorth Dakota State Forest Service2020-1501
4 April 2017Railroad operations and maintenance4.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service657
1 April 2019Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreNorth Dakota State Forest Service20190707
3 December 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service2700

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Richland County

Storms near this place

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wahpeton in 70 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 28 thunderstorm wind, 21 hail, 11 flash flood, 4 funnel cloud. 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 1999Thunderstorm WindWahpeton1 hurt, $75,000A 5 year-old boy was injured when parts of a neighbors roof came through a window in his house. He received 10 to 12 stitches on his neck and head from glass cuts. Nearby a garage was blown off its foundation and a boat was lifted into some trees. Another neighbor had a shed destroyed and a fish house, boat, and grain bins were damaged.
April 2023FloodWahpeton$194,000Wahpeton - First crest of 12.29 ft occurred on 4/15, with a secondary crest of 12.51 ft occurring on 4/19.|NOTE: Damages dollar amount is for the entire county. Not separated by specific river basin or damage type.
August 2008Flash FloodWahpeton$150,000Water was reported to be 2 to 3 feet deep in the streets of Wahpeton with water up on front lawns. 2.75 inches of rain fell in two hours. No travel was advised by city officials.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindWahpeton$100,000A business on Highway 13 reported substantial damage to its machinery and buildings as the high winds came through. A semi truck also was blown over close by.
May 1998FloodWahpeton$50,000no account filed
July 2016Flash FloodWahpeton$20,000Knee deep water was reported over Sixth Street South, along with basement flooding and power outages.
July 2008Tornado (EF0)Wahpeton$10,000A brief touchdown occurred in southern Wahpeton. A large tree was snapped and fell on a house. Other minor shingle and tree branch damage occurred nearby. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph.
July 2002LightningWahpeton$10,00035 to 40 homes were evacuated after lightning ruptured a gas line. The residents were allowed to return two hours later.
June 2014Flash FloodWahpeton$5,000Law enforcement reported that 2.50 inches of rain had fallen causing quite a bit of street flooding.
July 2002LightningWahpeton$5,000Lightning struck a duplex and damaged a stove an other electrical appliances. No fire was reported.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindWahpeton$2,000no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindWahpeton$500Large tree branches were blown down.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Tree damage in Wahpeton.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Large trees were snapped or uprooted. Timing based on radar analysis.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Trees were blown down around town.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-A large tree limb was blown down on a house and fence.
July 2019Funnel CloudWahpeton-The funnel cloud was about a mile west of the Wahpeton city limits.
July 2019Funnel CloudWahpeton-One funnel was observed west-southwest of Wahpeton and a second northwest of Wahpeton.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-A few large tree branches were blown down.
July 2017HailWahpeton-Lots of nickel to quarter sized hail was reported.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Large tree branches were blown down.
July 2016HailWahpeton-Very heavy rain was also reported.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Wind driven hail produced widespread tree damage across northern and eastern neighborhoods in Wahpeton. Numerous large trees or tree limbs were snapped off near ground level while neighborhoods were littered with smaller branches, leaf debris, and hail. Peak winds were estimated at 75 mph with the strong winds lasting for several minutes.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Numerous large tree branches and limbs were broken down by strong winds. Sporadic power outages were also observed.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-A tree was blown down onto a road.
July 2010HailWahpeton-The hail ranged in size from 0.88 to 1.25 inches.
July 2009Heavy RainWahpeton-Approximately 3.25 inches of rain fell between noon and 4 pm CST.
July 2009Funnel CloudWahpeton-A series of weak and short lived funnel clouds formed between Wyndmere and Wahpeton.
June 2009HailWahpeton-Quarter sized hail and wind gusts to 50 mph were reported at the North Dakota State School of Science.
July 2008Funnel CloudWahpeton-A persistent wall cloud with funnel was viewed.
September 2008Flash FloodWahpeton-Three to five inches of rain fell in 4 hours, which resulted in localized flooding of farm fields and farm access roads. Some street flooding also occurred.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Tree branches were snapped off across the north side of Wahpeton.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-The wind gust was measured by a Davis weather sensor at the ND DOT weigh station.
June 2005Flash FloodWahpeton-2.44 inches of rain fell in one hour, causing major street flooding. Conditions were the worst again along fifth street south, where cars were stalled in the high water.
June 2005Flash FloodWahpeton-About 2.5 inches of rain fell in an hour, flooding several city streets. Some basement flooding and sewer backup was reported. A car and a minivan were both flooded by high water on one street, which didn't drain for nearly 4 hours. Fifth street south in Wahpeton was hit the hardest.
June 2005HailWahpeton-Hail covered the ground near the Red River.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-A tree was blown down in Wahpeton, destroying a mail box.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-A ND DOT RWIS sensor reported a 60 mph wind gust.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Strong winds snapped trees and downed power lines.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-A 59 mph wind gust was measured at the Wahpeton State College of Science.
August 2002Flash FloodWahpeton-Street and basement flooding was reported after 2 to 6 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time. 30 cars were stalled at a number of intersections from the high water. The county courthouse sustained some water damage as well.
September 2002HailWahpeton-The hail was reported along Interstate 29.
April 2001Flash FloodWahpeton-Water was reported over roads.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Trees were downed by the strong wind.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-Numerous trees were blown down.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-A 59 mph wind gust was measured at the ND State College of Science.
July 2000Flash FloodWahpeton-Street flooding occurred in Wahpeton, after nearly 2 inches of rain fell.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-no account filed
August 2012HailWahpeton-no account filed
June 2009HailWahpeton-no account filed
July 2008HailWahpeton-no account filed
July 2008HailWahpeton-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-no account filed
June 2005HailWahpeton-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-no account filed
June 2005HailWahpeton-no account filed
July 2005HailWahpeton-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWahpeton-no account filed
August 2005HailWahpeton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Richland 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
Elmore4.8 miles9
Dwight7.5 miles11
Farmington7.7 miles10
Tyler8.0 miles9
Fairview Junction11.6 miles10
Great Bend12.9 miles10
Galchutt13.7 miles9
Abercrombie14.2 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 WahpetonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1996092The 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 1033621. 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.