Bowdle, South Dakota
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Bowdle Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57428. The Survey maps it on the Bowdle quadrangle. 470 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,998 feet above sea level.
On record in Bowdle
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
Bank of Bowdlelisted 1985
Population over time
2 figuresBowdle fell from 502 to 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 502 | |
| 2020 | 470 | -32 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 7 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.
- 1954 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Bowdle quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Gettysburg quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
14 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Bowdle between 2006 and 2019, burning about 2,023 acres in total. 3 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 | 7 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2017 | Natural | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | HOFFMAN |
| 6 August 2019 | Natural | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | GEIER FIRE |
| 8 July 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | SCHOCK |
| 18 July 2006 | Natural | 2,000 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 7 June 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Edmunds County | RR |
| 7 June 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Edmunds County | RR 2 |
| 7 May 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Edmunds County | HAAR |
| 17 May 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | BOSCHEE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 88 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bowdle in 88 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 42 hail, 26 thunderstorm wind, 12 flood, 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2019 | Flood | Bowdle | $39,600 | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | Estimated seventy-five mph winds. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Bowdle | - | Many roads were flooded throughout Edmunds county with many of them closed. Also, several structures were threatened by the high water. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | A small outbuilding was blown down. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | Ten power poles along with many trees were downed by estimated ninety mph winds. |
| September 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | Sixty mph winds along with ping pong size hail caused broken windows along with stripping some corn. |
| May 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Bowdle | - | The first weak tornado touched down quickly in an open field southwest of Bowdle. |
| May 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Bowdle | - | A second weak tornado touched down briefly in an open field. |
| August 2012 | Hail | Bowdle | - | Golf ball size hail caused damage to vehicles. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | Sixty mph winds downed some large branches. |
| March 2011 | Flood | Bowdle | - | Many county and township roads were flooded and damaged in Edmunds county including U.S. Highway 12. The flooding of U.S. Highway 12 severely affected the busy highway traffic. Several roads were also closed across the county. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Bowdle | - | Snowmelt runoff flooded and damaged many roads throughout Edmunds county. The flooding of U.S. Highway 12 caused the most impact to travel. The frequently traveled east/west highway was eventually closed with traffic being detoured. |
| May 2011 | Flood | Bowdle | - | Previous snowmelt water along with above normal May rainfall kept many roads flooded and damaged throughout Edmunds county. The flooding of U.S. Highway 12 caused the most impact to travel. The highway remained closed near Roscoe with the traffic being detoured. |
| June 2011 | Flood | Bowdle | - | A very wet spring along with much above normal June rainfall kept many roads flooded and damaged throughout Edmunds county. The flooding of U.S. Highway 12 caused the most impact to travel. The highway remained closed near Roscoe with the traffic being detoured. The flooding continued into July. |
| May 2010 | Tornado (EF4) | Bowdle | - | An EF2 tornado in eastern Walworth county crossed into western Edmunds county and intensified into a large EF4 tornado as it struck several farms in its path. At the first farm, several large cottonwood trees were uprooted along with damage to several trailers. Three grain bins were also destroyed with debris located several hundred yards to the northeast. The residence suffered some shingle and antenna damage. The tornado then tracked northeast to a second farm where several outbuildings were damaged or destroyed along with widespread tree damage. The main residence at this location suffered no damage. Several grain cars were also rolled about 100 yards into the trees behind the house.||The large tornado continued to track northeast to a third farm to the north of Bowdle. The main residence suffered major damage to walls with part of the roof structure removed. Widespread tree damage was sustained with many of the |trees completely debarked with only the stumps of the largest branches |remaining. Two large garages were completely destroyed with the |concrete slab wiped clean. The vehicles in one garage were |rolled or tossed from 25 to 100 yards away. It is estimated that one |vehicle flew through the air 75 to 100 yards resting in the tree |shelter belt to the north of the residence. Several other outbuildings were completely destroyed.||The tornado then toppled six to eight metal power transmission towers as it moved to the north of the farm. One tower was sheared off from the concrete footings and traveled an estimated 400 yards. Ground scouring was visible along the path of these towers.||The large tornado continued to track east crossing over State Highway 47 where a state radio tower was toppled. The tornado lifted shortly thereafter. The highest wind speeds were estimated to be from 166 to 200 mph. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | Eighty mph winds leveled a silo, damaged two barns, and uprooted many trees. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | Many branches were downed in Bowdle. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | Strong winds brought down many tree branches. |
| July 2001 | Tornado (F2) | Bowdle | - | A tornado touched down and heavily damaged a house. The attached garage was totally destroyed with two vehicles badly damaged. The metal roof was ripped off of the barn with three outbuildings destroyed. Five telephone/power poles were broken off with 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile of power lines down. Also, a small windmill was wrapped around a power pole. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| April 2023 | Flood | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Flood | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| May 2019 | Flood | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| September 2018 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| September 2017 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Bowdle | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Bowdle | - | 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.
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 Bowdle | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2291276 | 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 1254024. 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.



