Murdo, South Dakota
6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Murdo City. It lies in ZIP code area 57559. The Survey maps it on the Murdo quadrangle. 475 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,313 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Murdo
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 4 records
Murdo State Banklisted 2015- Capa Bridgelisted 1993
- Immanuel Lutheran Churchlisted 1988
- Weigandt Barnlisted 2013
Population over time
2 figuresMurdo fell from 488 to 475 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 | 488 | |
| 2020 | 475 | -13 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 6 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.
- 1955 USGS Martin quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Martin quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Murdo quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS White River quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
24 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Murdo between 1998 and 2020, burning about 36 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 2 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 | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Fireworks | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | RAHN BURN |
| 13 September 1998 | Natural | 10 acres | Oral Volunteer Fire Department | EMICK FIRE |
| 3 August 2006 | Natural | 5.5 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 2 August 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | GOTHIER |
| 18 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | BALE 1 |
| 10 August 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 5 July 2006 | Fireworks | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 30 July 1999 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Piedmont Volunteer Fire Department | TILFORD |
Storms near this place
60 of 61 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Murdo in 61 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 31 hail, 28 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1994 | Hail | Murdo | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Hail | Murdo | - | Nickel-sized hail was reported in Murdo. |
| April 2024 | Flood | Murdo | - | The Jones County Emergency Manager reported flooding in Murdo. Additional flooding was noted outside of town on 273rd ave, with water over the road and a partially washed out culvert. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | A grain bin was leveled by the winds. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Winds were estimated at 60 mph. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | A semi was blown over by estimated seventy mph winds. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | A cornfield was completely destroyed by estimated seventy-five mph winds. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Estimated sixty mph winds downed a large cedar tree in Murdo. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | A semi was blown off Interstate-90 and into the median. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Seventy mph winds were estimated. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Ninety mph winds flipped over a semi-trailer and small cargo trailer. The winds also downed power lines and damaged numerous billboards and road signs. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Estimated eighty mph winds resulted in a couple flipped trailers. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Eighty mph winds broke several trees off at the base with lots of tree branches downed. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Seventy mph winds downed several power lines in Murdo. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Seventy mph winds flattened a two stall garage, bent a flag pole over, and downed many large tree limbs. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | Seventy mph winds damaged some street lights in Murdo. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | High winds of over 60 mph took the roof off and a wall down on a cattle barn. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | High winds destroyed several grain bins and tipped over an auger. |
| May 2001 | Hail | Murdo | - | Hail up to the size of quarters completely covered the ground along with breaking some windows. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | High winds blew over some power poles and also blew the roof off a grain bin. |
| June 1999 | Tornado (F0) | Murdo | - | A tornado touched down west of Murdo and went through an uninhabited farmstead tipping over a shed, moving some machinery around, tearing up a few trees, and scattering some hay bales around. On another farm, the tornado tore apart an open fronted shed, tipped over a wooden granary into a travel trailer, turned a combine ninety degrees, tore up some calving sheds, and snapped the tops of many cottonwood trees. The snapped tree tops were laying in all different angles. Some power poles and lines were brought down, leaving many in the dark for several hours. The tornado moved northeast and flipped over a semi trailer parked at a rest area on Interstate-90 and continued north damaging some more power lines and small structures before dissipating. Path length and width were estimated. |
| August 2024 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| October 2011 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| August 1998 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Murdo | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Murdo | - | 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.
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 Murdo | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2725754 | 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 1256622. 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.



