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Spencer, South Dakota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Benton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57374. The Survey maps it on the Spencer quadrangle. 136 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,385 feet above sea level.

Spencer within McCook County

Population over time

2 figures

Spencer fell from 154 to 136 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.

YearPeople Change
2010154
2020136-18 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 11 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

43 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 43 fires within 5 miles of Spencer between 1999 and 2020, burning about 694 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/undetermined23
Debris and open burning13
Equipment and vehicle use3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Other causes1
Smoking1

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
27 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMcCook CountyGERLACH
21 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMcCook CountyWAGNER
6 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMcCook CountyBAILEY
1 August 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression305TH ST FIRE
22 July 2007Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
20 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSpencer Volunteer Fire DepartmentEXIT 353 I-90
15 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSpencer Volunteer Fire DepartmentCALVIN HEITZMAN
9 June 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McCook County

Storms near this place

32 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spencer in 32 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 15 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 flood. The reports record 6 deaths and 150 injuries. 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
May 1998Tornado (F4)Spencer6 killed, 150 hurt, $17,000,000The tornado from Hanson County destroyed most of Spencer as it strengthened and continued to grow. Most homes, other buildings, and other structures in Spencer were completely levelled. Debris and belongings were scattered over a large area, and one receipt blown from Spencer was found just west of Chandler, MN about 80 miles east of Spencer. The tornado killed 6 and injured 150 in Spencer. The tornado continued southeast from Spencer, widened, then weakened, and dissipated 4 miles southwest of Salem with another tornado then forming from the same storm. The tornado caused additional damage to trees, power lines, crops, and buildings on farms after moving southeast of Spencer.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindSpencer$100,000Thunderstorm winds destroyed a grain bin, damaged other small farm buildings, and blew down signs. The winds also blew down power lines, causing power outages. The winds caused widespread tree damage, including several trees blown down. Vehicles were damaged by tree debris. The winds also caused crop damage, but the amount of crop damage could not be determined.
May 2007Tornado (EF2)Spencer$50,000A tornado damaged a house on the west side of Spencer and caused tree damage before crossing into western Hanson County.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindSpencer$50,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindSpencer$20,000Thunderstorm winds blew over two semi trucks and a camper on Interstate 90. The winds also caused crop damage in the area.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindSpencer$10,000Thunderstorm winds blew over billboards and caused tree damage.
June 2024Flash FloodSpencer-As a result of late evening rainfall from 3 to 5 inches in a couple hours, the city of Spencer lift stations could not keep up with water levels. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for areal and river flooding for McCook County.
July 2022HailSpencer-Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindSpencer-A stop sign was blown over by thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindSpencer-Multiple grain bins were heavily damaged.
August 2016HailSpencer-Large hail was accompanied by damaging winds.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindSpencer-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including up to 6 inch diameter branches blown down. The winds were accompanied by large hail.
August 2015HailSpencer-Large hail caused an unknown amount of damage to vehicles. The hail was accompanied by estimated 45 mph wind gusts.
April 2011FloodSpencer-Flooding of lowlands and lakes continued into most of April, while flooding abated on the Vermillion River, but water was slow to recede from other areas. Some roads remained flooded. High water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010 contributed to the slow nature of abatement of the flooding.
March 2011FloodSpencer-Melting of a heavy winter snow cover caused moderate flooding of the Little Vermillion River, as well as flooding of the East and West Fork Vermillion Rivers, and some small streams and lakes in the county. Farmland as well as other lowlands was flooded in some areas. The Little Vermillion River crested at 2.21 feet above flood stage near Salem on March 17th. A few roads were closed by the flooding, and water was running over other roads. A few roads were heavily damaged, but the amount of damage could not be determined before repairs began. The flooding onset was rapid for a snow melt flood due to high water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010. The river flooding ended before the end of the month, but some lowland flooding continued.
May 2011HailSpencer-Large hail was wind driven and caused an unknown amount of damage to vehicles.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindSpencer-Thunderstorm winds caused minor tree damage.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindSpencer-Thunderstorm winds blew down tree branches.
August 2004HailSpencer-Large hail contributed to crop damage caused by strong winds. The amount of damage was not known.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Spencer-A brief tornado caused no reported damage.
May 2012HailSpencer-no account filed
September 2012HailSpencer-no account filed
September 2012HailSpencer-no account filed
September 2010HailSpencer-no account filed
June 2009HailSpencer-no account filed
October 2007HailSpencer-no account filed
May 2007HailSpencer-no account filed
July 2004HailSpencer-no account filed
June 2003HailSpencer-no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindSpencer-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindSpencer-no account filed
August 1996HailSpencer-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McCook 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
Golden View Colony8.3 miles6
Unityville9.0 miles6
Salem10.8 miles6
Bridgewater13.0 miles11
Stanley Corner16.7 miles6
Canistota18.4 miles6
Orland Colony21.7 miles6
Montrose21.8 miles6

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 SpencerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2569304The 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 1258228. 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.