Appleby, South Dakota
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Sheridan Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57201. The Survey maps it on the Watertown SE quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 8 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.
- 1953 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Watertown SE quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
16 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Appleby between 1999 and 2012, burning about 43 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Other causes | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 September 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | 17773 HWY 81 |
| 23 September 1999 | Other causes | under an acre | Watertown Volunteer Fire Department | MM170 |
| 3 August 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 9 June 2000 | Other causes | 2.0 acres | South Shore Volunteer Fire Department | NELSON |
| 3 April 2000 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Watertown Volunteer Fire Department | DALE TESBH |
| 27 April 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 22 April 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Watertown Volunteer Fire Department | JUNKER |
| 22 April 2000 | Other causes | 10 acres | Watertown Volunteer Fire Department | JUNKER 2 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Appleby: 5 past producers, 1 producer. 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Mc Laughlin Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 2017Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Appleby in 9 storm reports between 2017 and 2025: 3 flood, 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Appleby | - | A weak thunderstorm generated a brief tornado in an open field. A storm chaser photographed the event. No damage was observed by this tornado, but it was the first February tornado to be documented in South Dakota history. |
| August 2025 | Flood | Appleby | - | The Big Sioux River below Watertown river gauge would exceed flood stage starting in the morning of August 22nd, peaking at 11.68 or 0.68 feet above flood stage. The river crested in the evening and was back below flood stage by the late morning of August 23rd. |
| August 2025 | Flash Flood | Appleby | - | Heavy rainfall on saturated soils resulted in flooding in and around Watertown, with street flooding reported across the city. Northeast of Watertown, a vehicle left the Interstate after encountering some 10 inches of water on the roadway that flooded both lanes near mile marker 182. When emergency crews arrived, the car was barely visible, with only the rear bumper above water. The occupant of the car swam to safety, was checked out on the scene by paramedics, but did not require any further medical attention.|Due to flooding, Interstate 29 was shut down between Exit 181 and Exit 185. |
| April 2023 | Flood | Appleby | - | Big Sioux river below Watertown peaked at major flood stage with a crest of 12.12 feet. This mainly impacted agricultural lands, though the water was high enough to reach the bridge at 177th Street on the south end of Watertown. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Appleby | - | One inch tree limbs were broken and shingles were blow off of a home. A nearby spotter measured an 81 mph gust. |
| September 2022 | Hail | Appleby | - | The report was relayed via social media with a photo. The timing and location of the report are approximate. |
| July 2017 | Hail | Appleby | - | Golf ball hail caused damage to the house siding along with breaking some windows. Crops were also damaged. |
| June 2025 | Funnel Cloud | Appleby | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Flood | Appleby | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foley | 5.4 miles | 8 | |
| Watertown | 6.6 miles | 8 | |
| Kranzburg | 8.7 miles | 8 | |
| Green Trees Subdivision | 10.6 miles | 8 | |
| Grover | 11.6 miles | 8 | |
| Rauville | 11.6 miles | 8 | |
| North Shore | 12.3 miles | 8 | |
| Kampeska | 12.3 miles | 8 |
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 Appleby | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q19600209 | 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 1261090. 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.



