Eureka, South Dakota
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Eureka City. It lies in ZIP code area 57437. The Survey maps it on the Eureka East quadrangle. 813 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,890 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresEureka fell from 868 to 813 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 | 868 | |
| 2020 | 813 | -55 (-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
- 1978 USGS Eureka East quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
42 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 42 fires within 5 miles of Eureka between 1999 and 2020, burning about 760 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 19 |
| Debris and open burning | 11 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Eureka Volunteer Fire Department | BRAD STABLER |
| 31 August 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | McPherson | HAY FIRE |
| 25 August 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | CITY CEMETERY |
| 21 August 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | MILLER VEHICLE |
| 20 August 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | McPherson | MEL HOFF |
| 15 August 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Eureka Volunteer Fire Department | KERVIN MUTSCHLER |
| 1 August 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 5 July 2017 | Natural | 10 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | KEITH MEHLHAFF |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Eureka: 1 past producer. None of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schnabal Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 62 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Eureka in 62 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 31 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 2 lightning. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2006 | Tornado (F3) | Eureka | 1 hurt | A supercell thunderstorm produced an F3 tornado in southwest Mcpherson county. The tornado was on the ground for nearly a half hour and covered about 14 miles. The tornado touched down near the Campbell county line. There were four different sites damaged with the greatest damage 8 miles south of Eureka and 2 miles southeast of Hillsview. Damage included numerous power poles snapped off, trees shredded of leaves, bark and/or uprooted. Numerous livestock and deer were killed. Devastating damage was observed to farm equipment, homes, barns, grain bins, and vehicles. A well anchored mobile home was completely destroyed. Debris from each site was observed up to 3 miles away. One person received minor scrapes and bruises. |
| August 2020 | Lightning | Eureka | $1,000 | Lightning struck the roof of a garage, putting a large hole in it. There was smoke, but no fire. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | A trained spotter estimated winds topped out at 50 to 60 mph. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | A member of the public reported that thunderstorm wind gusts had torn shingled off of a roof. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Estimated seventy-five mph winds blew the roof off a wood frame quonset with additional roof damage on a second outbuilding. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Seventy mph winds downed two machine sheds with a window blown out of the home. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Multiple large tree branches were downed in and around Eureka. A light tower and fence were also blown down at the town baseball field. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated by the public. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Seventy mph winds downed many tree branches along with several trees in Eureka. Some power lines were also downed from falling branches. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated by the public in Eureka. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated by law enforcement. |
| August 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Eureka | - | A tornado touched down briefly just northwest of Eureka. No damage was reported. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Eureka | - | Heavy rains caused flash flooding in Eureka. Several basements had water in them with some sewers backing up. One basement wall collapsed. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Seventy mph wind gusts downed many large tree limbs in Eureka. |
| August 2003 | Wildfire | Eureka | - | Dry conditions and strong winds allowed a previously extinguished fire to re-emerge in a hayfield and spread southeast. At one point the fire spread to four miles wide. The fire consumed 2000 acres of pastureland, two barns, an abandoned house, and 1800 hay bales. Fifty firefighters battled the blaze. |
| July 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Eureka | - | A tornado touched down north of Eureka. The tornado remained in open country and caused no damage. Path length and width were estimated. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | Several trees and numerous tree branches were downed as a result of the high winds. Also some shingles were torn off of the house. |
| August 1997 | Lightning | Eureka | - | Lightning struck an abandoned barn which caught fire and burned to the ground. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| September 2018 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eureka | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Eureka | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsview | 7.9 miles | 7 | |
| Greenway | 10.8 miles | 7 | |
| Madra | 12.2 miles | 7 | |
| Long Lake | 22.8 miles | 7 | |
| Leola | 36.1 miles | 8 | |
| Spring Creek Colony | 40.4 miles | 8 | |
| Long Lake Colony | 43.9 miles | 8 | |
| Grassland Colony | 44.5 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 Eureka | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q666688 | 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 1265640. 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.



