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Wetonka, South Dakota

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Wetonka town. It lies in ZIP code area 57481. The Survey maps it on the Wetonka North quadrangle. 16 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,470 feet above sea level.

Wetonka within McPherson County

Population over time

2 figures

Wetonka grew from 8 to 16 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
20108
202016+8 (+100%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

3 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Wetonka between 2016 and 2017, burning about 22 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
Equipment and vehicle use2
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
15 July 2017Equipment and vehicle use15 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionERDMANN GRASS FIRE
30 June 2017Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionWALTMAN GRASS FIRE
21 March 2016Debris and open burning5.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionKREUGER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McPherson County

Storms near this place

21 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wetonka in 21 storm reports between 2005 and 2025: 13 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 tornado. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2023Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Paint damage to side of house by wind blown hail. Hail size is unknown.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Thunderstorm winds were strong enough to blow the property off of this individuals patio.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Large trees and power polls were downed by significant straight-line wind, and grain bins were severely damaged. The time of the wind was estimated by radar.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Multiple rounds of severe winds occurred at the residence. There were very strong winds from the northwest along with south winds from the storm inflow. The most significant damage was done to a machine shop which lost the majority of the roof and walls. Farm machinery was damaged including a seed drill which was rotated and a feed wagon which was rolled onto its side. An old barn was toppled. This damage primarily spread from northwest to southeast. Finally, a small outbuilding was tossed back to the north, likely from the strong southerly inflow winds.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Estimated ninety mph winds brought several power poles down, trees and branches down, took part of a shop roof off, along with hay bales blown into different pastures.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Tree and building damage from estimated eighty mph winds.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Estimated ninety mph winds destroyed a machine shed, an old barn, along with other outbuildings.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Estimated ninety mph winds tore the roof off a trailer home and uprooted trees.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Significant damage was done to a machine shed by estimated eighty mph winds.
July 2020Tornado (EF2)Wetonka-A tornado touched down 3 miles north northwest of Wetonka causing significant damage to the Grassland Hutterite Colony. A large machine shop lost the roof and wall. A large, empty, anchored grain bin was completely removed from its base and the adjacent feed mill was significantly damaged. A 400 foot by 80 foot turkey barn was completely destroyed along with a smaller outbuilding. Debris from these two buildings was scattered in many directions. A trailer was flipped, freight storage unit rotated and two other outbuildings had complete loss of roof panels. Roof and siding damage occurred to many of the residential buildings. Tree and crop damage had also occurred. The tornado tracked over 2 miles southeast, crossing Mcpherson County Highway 23 and ending about one mile north northeast of Wetonka. Debris from the Grassland Colony was dispersed along the entire track of the tornado.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Sixty mph winds were estimated.
June 2005Tornado (F0)Wetonka-A tornado touched down in an open field. No damage occurred.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindWetonka-Large branches were brought down by the high winds.
August 2025HailWetonka-no account filed
July 2015HailWetonka-no account filed
June 2012HailWetonka-no account filed
July 2011HailWetonka-no account filed
July 2011HailWetonka-no account filed
July 2008HailWetonka-no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindWetonka-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWetonka-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McPherson 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
Long Lake Colony3.0 miles8
Grassland Colony3.1 miles8
Leola11.4 miles8
Spring Creek Colony20.5 miles8
Long Lake28.1 miles7
Hillsview42.0 miles7
Eureka46.2 miles7
Greenway53.7 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 WetonkaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3240084The 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 1258932. 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.