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White River, South Dakota

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in White River City. It lies in ZIP code area 57579. The Survey maps it on the White River East quadrangle. 533 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,136 feet above sea level.

White River within Mellette County

On record in White River

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

White River fell from 581 to 533 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
2010581
2020533-48 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 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

137 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 137 fires within 5 miles of White River between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,416 acres in total. 18 started naturally. 5 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
Misuse of fire by a minor44
Debris and open burning29
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Natural18
Equipment and vehicle use7
Arson/incendiarism5
Recreation and ceremony4
Fireworks4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3

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
8 September 2011Natural5.5 acresRosebud AgencyNLOWER SWIFT BEAR
6 September 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreRosebud AgencyPIT FIRE
3 September 1998Equipment and vehicle use30 acresRosebud AgencyLAWRENCE
29 September 2000Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreRosebud AgencyTWO BEARS
27 September 1995Debris and open burning61 acresRosebud AgencyHORSE CK.
24 September 2000Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresRosebud AgencyJAMES
21 September 2005Misuse of fire by a minor20 acresRosebud AgencyALLEN
2 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresRosebud AgencyTAIL GATE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Mellette County

Storms near this place

60 of 99 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names White River in 99 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 52 hail, 39 thunderstorm wind, 5 flood, 3 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 2000Thunderstorm WindWhite River$200,000High winds of unknown strength destroyed a new hog barn, moved two more off thier foundations and tore siding off another barn. The building that was destroyed was vacant, and no hogs were injured or killed.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindWhite River$75,000Roofs were torn off two houses and a trailer house was rolled three times. No injuries were reported.
August 2009HailWhite River$5,000A house roof was damaged by large hail.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWhite River$5,000Strong winds downed numerous trees in White River, including one 20 inches in diameter.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWhite River$5,000An uprooted tree damaged two vehicles.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindWhite River$5,000A tree was blown over during the evening hours, damaging a nearby car.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2025HailWhite River-Public submitted report.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWhite River-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWhite River-A camper was blown over by the wind.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Small hail also fell with the storm.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
March 2019FloodWhite River-Ice jams, combined with runoff from melting snow, caused moderate flooding along the White River. On March 22, the rising river forced the closure of US Highway 83. About a three-quarter mile stretch of Highway 83 was inundated when water backed up behind an ice jam downstream. On March 23, a record flow of 21,700 cfs was recorded at the site. This location has a period of record about 20 years.
May 2019FloodWhite River-Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the White River around the US Highway 83 bridge north of the town of White River. The river crested at 14.82 feet just over flood stage (14 feet) on May 25, with a peak flow around 17,700 cfs.
May 2019FloodWhite River-Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred along the White River around the US Highway 83 bridge north of the town of White River. The river crested just over flood stage (14 feet) at 14.92 feet on May 28, with a peak flow around 18,100 cfs.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Wind gusts were estimated around 60 mph.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Several trees were blown down in White River.
August 2006HailWhite River-50 mph wind gusts accompanied the hail.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindWhite River-Part of a barn roof was blown off.
May 1999Tornado (F0)White River-Brief Touchdown. Tornado path and width estimated
May 1999Tornado (F0)White River-Brief Touchdown. Tornado path and width estimated
July 2024HailWhite River-no account filed
July 2024HailWhite River-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWhite River-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWhite River-no account filed
September 2023Thunderstorm WindWhite River-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindWhite River-no account filed
July 2021HailWhite River-no account filed
August 2021HailWhite River-no account filed
August 2021HailWhite River-no account filed
June 2020HailWhite River-no account filed
August 2019HailWhite River-no account filed
August 2019HailWhite River-no account filed
July 2018HailWhite River-no account filed
July 2016HailWhite River-no account filed
August 2015Thunderstorm WindWhite River-no account filed
May 2012HailWhite River-no account filed
May 2012HailWhite River-no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindWhite River-no account filed
August 2011HailWhite River-no account filed
August 2011HailWhite River-no account filed
June 2010HailWhite River-no account filed
June 2010HailWhite River-no account filed
April 2009FloodWhite River-no account filed
May 2009HailWhite River-no account filed
February 2009FloodWhite River-no account filed
July 2009HailWhite River-no account filed
June 2008HailWhite River-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWhite River-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Mellette 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
Cedar Butte14.5 miles5
Wood15.0 miles5
Badnation20.7 miles7
Corn Creek24.1 miles5
Mosher24.7 miles5
Norris24.8 miles5

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 White RiverAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2269699The 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 1266934. 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.