Howard, South Dakota
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Howard Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57349. The Survey maps it on the Howard quadrangle. 848 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,575 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Howard
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 3 records
- Nansen Storelisted 2014
- South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 49-095-190listed 1993
- Wheeler Hotellisted 1985
Population over time
2 figuresHoward fell from 858 to 848 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 | 858 | |
| 2020 | 848 | -10 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 11 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.
- 1899 USGS De Smet quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1971 USGS Howard quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS De Smet quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
15 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Howard between 2007 and 2017, burning about 75 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | KUHLE FIELD |
| 5 July 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | CALLIES |
| 10 July 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Minnehaha County | BELLVIEW |
| 25 June 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | HOWARD |
| 22 April 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | CAVIGILLI |
| 17 April 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | BUNKER RX |
| 15 April 2008 | Debris and open burning | 33 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 13 April 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | GOLF COURSE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Howard: 2 producers. All of them still produce. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelses Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Van-Scharrel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
45 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howard in 45 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 21 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 3 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 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | 1 hurt | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage and broke windows. One person received minor cuts from flying glass. |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $60,000 | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Flash Flood | Howard | $50,000 | Heavy rainfall of 2 to 6 inches caused widespread flooding of roads and basements, especially in an area from the town of Howard to 4 miles north of Howard. Several county roads were washed out and some bridges were damaged. A golf course on the east side of Howard was flooded. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Howard | $50,000 | The damage path of the hail was estimated to be about 12 miles long and three to five miles wide. The hail caused widespread crop damage, many windows were broken, and some sheds and vehicles were damaged. |
| May 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Howard | $50,000 | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Howard | $30,000 | Large hail broke windows in buildings and vehicles, dented vehicles, and damaged siding. The hail caused minor damage to corn crops and more extensive damage to soybean crops in the area. The amount of crop damage was not known. |
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF2) | Howard | $20,000 | A tornado damaged outbuildings and destroyed a hunting lodge. |
| May 2004 | Lightning | Howard | $20,000 | Lightning struck a house and started a fire. The fire was contained mostly in the roof and attic, but the house was filled with smoke. |
| September 1995 | Hail | Howard | $20,000 | Hail broke some windows on vehicles and caused damage to soybean and corn crops over a small area along the eastern edge of the county. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew a shed off of its foundation. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor near Howard. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor 1 mile west of Howard. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Howard | - | Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts damaged several buildings in Howard, with numerous trees and powerlines down. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | An extended period of thunderstorm wind gusts of 58 mph or greater was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD597 1 mile west of Howard. A peak wind gust of 99 mph occurred at 1413CST. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm winds caused significant roof damage to an agricultural building and knocked over nearby steel tanks. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | A thunderstorm wind gust of 70 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD597 1 mile west of Howard. |
| September 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts measured by South Dakota RWIS site SD597 1 mile west of Howard. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Several tree limbs and branches down. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Tree limbs downed across the entire town. |
| August 2016 | Hail | Howard | - | Large hail caused an unknown amount of damage to vehicles. |
| September 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous branches and a few trees blown down. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several large trees blown down. The winds also damaged a dugout at a baseball diamond, blew down power lines, and blew down the door to a farm shop. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage. mostly branches down. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | Thunderstorm winds blew an 8 by 10 foot metal shed into nearby trees. |
| August 2025 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| September 2010 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howard | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Howard | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Howard | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Lightning | Howard | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vilas | 3.7 miles | 11 | |
| Shannon Colony | 5.8 miles | 6 | |
| Argonne | 7.3 miles | 12 | |
| Roswell | 9.0 miles | 12 | |
| Canova | 9.0 miles | 11 | |
| Cloverleaf Colony | 11.9 miles | 11 | |
| Fedora | 14.0 miles | 11 | |
| Carthage | 14.9 miles | 11 |
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 Howard | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2089472 | 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 1265656. 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.




