BlockBefore

Buffalo, South Dakota

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the North Harding unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57720. It stands on Rush Creek. The Survey maps it on the Buffalo quadrangle. 346 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,881 feet above sea level.

Buffalo within Harding County

On record in Buffalo

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Buffalo grew from 330 to 346 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
2010330
2020346+16 (+5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 6 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

13 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Buffalo between 2003 and 2020, burning about 283 acres in total. 6 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
Natural6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Equipment and vehicle use2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
10 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined16 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
7 August 2007Natural2.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
31 August 2006Natural7.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
30 August 2006Natural112 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
28 August 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionVROMAN
22 August 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined24 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
31 July 2005Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
18 July 2006Natural75 acresMiles City Field OfficeRUSH CREEK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Harding County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Buffalo: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Lignite, Petroleum (Oil), Natural Gas, Uranium, Bloating Material, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Buffalo QuadLignite, Petroleum (Oil), Natural Gas, Uranium, Bloating Material, Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast ProducerCarnotite, Clay, Lignite

Every working recorded in Harding County

Storms near this place

60 of 76 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Buffalo in 76 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 39 hail, 35 thunderstorm wind, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBuffalo$200,000The combination of large hail and strong wind gusts caused property damage in Buffalo.
July 2012HailBuffalo$25,000Hail covered U.S. Highway 85; the ground was completely white from hail.
July 2011HailBuffalo$20,000Large hail damaged home, automobiles, and roof of an outbuilding.
July 2011HailBuffalo$10,000no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBuffalo$5,000The combination of hail and wind caused minor damage.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBuffalo$5,000Windows were blown out of a house and numerous trees were downed.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindBuffalo$5,000Widespread hail accumulated on roads, broke windows in several homes, and damaged some vehicles.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindBuffalo$4,000Power company reported 4 power poles blown over.
July 2025HailBuffalo-Public report.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2018Tornado (EF2)Buffalo-The tornado developed just south of SD Highway 20 near mile marker 17, where it snapped power poles and trees near a house. A farm outbuilding was also severely damaged, with most of its exterior walls collapsed. Based on video evidence, the tornado then continued northward across rural areas northwest of Buffalo and crossed Clanton Road before dissipating. The tornado was rated an EF-2 with peak wind speeds estimated near 115 mph.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-Wind gusts were estimated around 60 mph.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2012HailBuffalo-Hail covered the ground.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-The sheriff estimated wind gusts at 70 mph.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-Wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph.
July 2008HailBuffalo-Hail was six inches deep.
June 2005HailBuffalo-3 inch diameter limbs down in Buffalo.
July 2004HailBuffalo-Hail covered the ground.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-The Buffalo Automatic Meteorological Observing System recorded a 62 mph wind gust.
July 1995HailBuffalo-Large hail caused some crop and structural damage near Buffalo.
June 2024HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2024HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2022HailBuffalo-no account filed
May 2020HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2020HailBuffalo-no account filed
August 2017HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
July 2015HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2011HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2011HailBuffalo-no account filed
August 2011HailBuffalo-no account filed
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
August 2008Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
July 2008HailBuffalo-no account filed
August 2007HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2005HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
June 2005HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2005Tornado (F0)Buffalo-no account filed
July 2004HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2004HailBuffalo-no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
August 2004HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2003HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2003HailBuffalo-no account filed
July 2003HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
June 2002HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2002HailBuffalo-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBuffalo-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Harding 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
Ladner19.3 miles6
Ludlow19.5 miles8
Harding19.9 miles7
Redig21.6 miles6
Camp Crook22.8 miles8
Karinen22.9 miles6
Reva24.6 miles8
Ralph28.7 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 BuffaloAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2149699The 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 1254110. 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.