Vivian, South Dakota
6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Vivian Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57576. It stands on North Fork Medicine Creek. The Survey maps it on the Vivian quadrangle. 98 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,896 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresVivian fell from 119 to 98 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 | 119 | |
| 2020 | 98 | -21 (-18%) |
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 Vivian quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS White River quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
49 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Vivian between 1999 and 2020, burning about 376 acres in total. 12 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Natural | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | INTERSTATE RV |
| 23 September 2005 | Natural | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 7 August 2012 | Natural | 35 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | OWEN PETERSON |
| 7 August 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Vivian Volunteer Fire Department | MARKER 210 I-90 |
| 27 August 2003 | Natural | 6.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 20 August 2020 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | MORELAND FIRE |
| 18 August 2015 | Natural | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | WILLIAMS BALE |
| 16 August 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | LYLE HULLINGER |
Storms near this place
48 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Vivian in 48 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 25 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 flood, 2 funnel cloud. The reports record 5 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2010 | Hail | Vivian | 5 hurt | The eight inch diameter hailstone was a United States record. The hailstone also had a circumference of 18.625 inches and weighed 1.9375 pounds. The hailstone broke the previous United States record for diameter (7.0 inches - 22 June 2003 in Aurora, NE) and weight (1.67 pounds - 3 September 1970 in Coffeyville, KS). The Aurora, Nebraska hailstone will retain the record for circumference (18.75 inches). Extensive damage to buildings and vehicles had occurred with this record setting stone. Five minor injuries occurred on Interstate-90 as the large hailstones went through car windshields. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | A peak wind gust of 73 mph was recorded at a South Dakota State University mesonet station 12 miles south of Vivian. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | A semi tractor trailer was overturned near Vivian on Interstate 90. The report was relayed via social media, and the time and location is approximate. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | A semi jackknifed on southbound US 83 due to estimated 70 mph wind gusts. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | A trained spotter estimated wind speeds around 75 mph. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | Many small tree limbs were downed by estimated 60 mph wind gusts. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | Estimated eighty mph winds took the roof off a building. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Vivian | - | A large ice jam formed along the White River around the Highway 47 Bridge. Water backed up behind the ice, causing hundreds of acres of agricultural land to be flooded. The high water inundated several outbuildings and neared a home along Highway 47. The river crested just shy of 25 feet on March 19th. With the continued snow melt, additional rises were recorded, resulting in a second crest of 20.5 feet and a flow of 37,900 cfs on March 25th. This was the 3rd highest flow on record at this location. |
| May 2019 | Flood | Vivian | - | Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the White River around the Highway 47 bridge south of Reliance. The river crested a few feet over the flood stage of 15 feet to 19 feet on May 29th. |
| May 2019 | Flood | Vivian | - | Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the White River around the Highway 47 bridge south of Reliance. The river crested a few feet over the flood stage of 15 feet to 18.9 feet on May 24th. |
| June 2011 | Flood | Vivian | - | Minor flooding occurred along the White River. The river gage southwest of Oacoma along Highway 47 crested at 16.9 feet or 1.9 feet above flood stage. Flooding of agricultural land occurred. |
| February 2011 | Flood | Vivian | - | The White River fluctuated above and below flood stage for several days causing minor flooding to occur. The river gage southwest of Oacoma along Highway 47 crested at 21.4 feet or 6.4 feet above flood stage. Flooding of agricultural land occurred. |
| March 2011 | Flood | Vivian | - | Minor flooding occurred along the White River. The river gage southwest of Oacoma along Highway 47 crested at 16.9 feet of 1.9 feet above flood stage. Flooding of agricultural land occurred. |
| March 2010 | Flood | Vivian | - | Near record flooding occurred along the White River due to ice jamming. The river gage southwest of Oacoma along Highway 47 crested at 24.4 feet or 9.4 feet above flood stage. One home was threatened by the high water. |
| July 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Vivian | - | A tornado touched down briefly west of Vivian with no damage reported. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | Seventy mph winds brought down many large tree branches. |
| June 2025 | Funnel Cloud | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Funnel Cloud | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Flood | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| February 2000 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Vivian | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Vivian | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presho | 12.4 miles | 6 | |
| Kennebec | 22.9 miles | 8 | |
| Lyman | 29.5 miles | 8 | |
| Reliance | 36.7 miles | 8 | |
| Council House | 38.7 miles | 8 | |
| Lower Brule | 39.1 miles | 8 | |
| Oacoma | 48.4 miles | 11 | |
| Iona | 53.1 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 Vivian | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2529993 | 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 1258764. 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.



