Medary, South Dakota
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Medary Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57006. It stands on Lake Campbell Outlet. The Survey maps it on the Medary quadrangle. It stands 1,575 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 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.
- 1953 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Medary quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1985 USGS Brookings quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
88 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 88 fires within 5 miles of Medary between 1999 and 2020, burning about 1,405 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 4 were 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 | 33 |
| Debris and open burning | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | EICHELBERG |
| 17 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Brookings County | PARKER |
| 7 August 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 6 August 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.4 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | LAKE CAMPBELL OUTLET |
| 2 August 2008 | Other causes | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 1 August 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | SOCCER FIELD |
| 8 July 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | COUNTRY CLUB |
| 5 July 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Brookings County | MONSEES |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Medary: 5 past producers, 3 producers. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
27 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Medary in 27 storm reports between 2009 and 2025: 13 flood, 6 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2010 | Flash Flood | Medary | $500,000 | Heavy rainfall of several inches caused flash flooding of numerous streets, basements, fields, and other low areas in and near Brookings. Widespread flash flooding from the overflow of Six Mile Creek was noted in the western and northwestern parts of the city. People in at least 50 houses, mobile homes, and apartments were forced to evacuate, and there was widespread water damage to structures, contents, and vehicles in this area. The widespread flooding from the creek came close to but did not reach the downtown area, although street flooding there was noted. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Medary | $170,000 | Flooding resulted in damage to public infrastructure including county and township roads and culverts. |
| September 2019 | Flood | Medary | $25,000 | After excessive two-day rainfall during September 10-12 (6.57 inches near Aurora), Medary Creek near Medary (gage site MDYS2) reached the highest stage on record of 3.86 feet above flood stage on September 12. Numerous county and township roads were inundated, along with considerable flooding of agricultural land near the creek. |
| June 2025 | Flood | Medary | - | The Big Sioux River near Brookings rose above flood stage the morning of June 30th, cresting around 0.98 feet above flood stage (9.98 feet) on June 30th. The river continued rising into early July. |
| June 2025 | Flood | Medary | - | Medary Creek near Medary rose above flood stage the morning of June 29th, cresting around 0.83 feet above flood stage (1588.83 feet) on June 30th. The creek stayed above flood stage into early July. |
| July 2025 | Flood | Medary | - | Medary Creek near Medary remained above flood stage from June. The creek fell below flood stage the evening of July 1st. |
| July 2025 | Flood | Medary | - | The Big Sioux River near Brookings continued above flood stage from June, further rising to a crest around 1.39 feet above flood stage (10.39 feet). The river then fell below flood stage during the afternoon of July 9th. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medary | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts up to 60 mph were measured by a personal weather station southwest of Brookings. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Medary | - | Medary Creek near Medary rose above flood stage the morning of June 24th, cresting around 0.61 feet above flood stage (1588.61 feet) on June 24th. The creek then fell below flood stage on the afternoon of June 25th. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Medary | - | The Big Sioux River near Brookings rose above flood stage the afternoon of June 23rd, cresting around 2.06 feet above flood stage (11.06 feet) on June 27th. This crest is in the Moderate Stage. The river stayed above flood stage into July. |
| April 2023 | Flood | Medary | - | Medary Creek near Medary, SD rose above flood stage on the morning of April 10th before cresting around 0.47 feet above flood stage (1588.47 feet) on April 10th. The creek then fell below flood stage on the morning of April 12th. |
| June 2019 | Funnel Cloud | Medary | - | Brief funnel which quickly became rain wrapped. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Medary | - | Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 2.02 in Brookings and 1.68 inches in Aurora) resulted in extensive flooding of agricultural land. Medary Creek near Medary (gage site MDYS2) reached the second highest crest on record of 1.71 feet above flood stage on March 21. |
| April 2018 | Flood | Medary | - | Snow melt and runoff from periods of heavier rainfall produced minor flooding which produced significant impact to lowland agricultural areas. River levels reached 0.8 feet above flood stage near Medary (gage site BSMS2) on April 24. |
| July 2018 | Flood | Medary | - | Significant amounts of crop and pasture land near Medary Creek were severely impacted by moderate flooding as river levels climbed to 2.5 feet above flood stage near Medary (gage site MDYS2) on July 20. |
| March 2018 | Flood | Medary | - | Runoff from rainfall, snow melt, and ice breakup caused minor flooding of lowland agricultural areas along middle portions of the Big Sioux River. The river reached a crest of 0.3 feet above flood stage near Brookings (gage site BRKS2) on March 25, with a second rise to a stage 1.2 feet above flood stage at months end. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medary | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down. The winds were accompanied by penny size hail. |
| June 2016 | Hail | Medary | - | Penny size hail was accompanied by damaging winds. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medary | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including large branches broken off. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medary | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including large branches broken off. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medary | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including up to 3 inch diameter branches blown down. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medary | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down power lines. |
| August 2025 | Hail | Medary | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Hail | Medary | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Medary | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Medary | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Medary | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Trailor Town | 4.4 miles | 9 | |
| Brookings | 7.0 miles | 9 | |
| Aurora | 7.4 miles | 8 | |
| Sunnyview | 9.3 miles | 9 | |
| Volga | 10.8 miles | 8 | |
| Bushnell | 11.2 miles | 8 | |
| Sinai | 13.7 miles | 9 | |
| Roland Colony | 13.8 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 Medary | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6805155 | 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 1261042. 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.



