BlockBefore

Howes, South Dakota

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Howard Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57748. The Survey maps it on the Howes quadrangle. It stands 2,408 feet above sea level.

Howes within Meade County

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 8 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

19 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Howes between 2000 and 2018, burning about 2,584 acres in total. 11 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
Natural11
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Equipment and vehicle use2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Debris and open burning1

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
9 September 2018Natural10 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionMILE MARKER 114 FIRE
9 September 2018Natural15 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionHOWES GRAZING
5 September 2011Natural20 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionGRAZING
4 September 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined33 acresCheyenne River AgencyBUFFLAKE
22 August 2011Natural1.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionHUDSON
13 August 2007Natural350 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
12 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined350 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
12 August 2007Natural500 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Meade County

Storms near this place

33 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howes in 33 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 18 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 1 flood, 1 tornado. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1998HailHowes1 hurtA motorist was injured by broken glass and hail.
June 2008FloodHowes$500,000Elk Creek, Alkali Creek, Antelope Creek, the Belle Fourche River and their tributaries flooded from east of Piedmont to Viewfield and Elm Springs.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindHowes$10,000A garage was destroyed by strong winds.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindHowes$5,000Wind-driven hail caused minor damage.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindHowes-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindHowes-SD Mesonet Station recorded the wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindHowes-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindHowes-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
July 2016HailHowes-Hail to quarter size and wind gusts to 50 mph were reported with the storm.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindHowes-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindHowes-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindHowes-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2014Tornado (EF0)Howes-A very small tornado was observed. It caused no damage.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindHowes-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 70 mph.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindHowes-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindHowes-Wind gusts were estimated around 60 mph.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHowes-Thunderstorm winds ripped the roof off a large machine shed, smashed calf shelters, and tossed large round hay bales. The skirting and deck of a mobile home was torn off. At another ranch, two cone-shaped grain bins on posts were blown over.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHowes-Tractor-trailer semi blown off road.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindHowes-no account filed
September 2024Thunderstorm WindHowes-no account filed
June 2018HailHowes-no account filed
June 2012HailHowes-no account filed
June 2005HailHowes-no account filed
June 2005HailHowes-no account filed
June 2005HailHowes-no account filed
July 2005HailHowes-no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindHowes-no account filed
July 2005HailHowes-no account filed
June 2003HailHowes-no account filed
August 2002HailHowes-no account filed
July 2000HailHowes-no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindHowes-no account filed
May 1998HailHowes-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Meade 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
Plainview5.9 miles7
Marcus12.0 miles7
White Owl20.2 miles7
Avance (historical)23.1 miles7
Dalzell26.4 miles7
Redowl27.1 miles7
Enning27.3 miles8
Faith27.9 miles7

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 HowesAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5921857The 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 1261021. 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.