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Willow Lake, South Dakota

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Willow Lake City. It lies in ZIP code area 57278. The Survey maps it on the Willow Lake quadrangle. 255 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,785 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Willow Lake within Clark County

On record in Willow Lake

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Willow Lake fell from 263 to 255 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
2010263
2020255-8 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 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

2 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Willow Lake between 2000 and 2020, burning about 8 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
Recreation and ceremony1
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
22 May 2020Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionDISRUD
4 April 2000Debris and open burning5.0 acresBradley Volunteer Fire DepartmentDAVE FIWSTED

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Clark County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Willow Lake: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Seefelt PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Clark County

Storms near this place

58 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Willow Lake in 58 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 32 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 3 flash 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1994HailWillow Lake$50,000Hail fell in a narrow path estimated to be 15 miles long across southern Clark County and including the Willow Lake area. Corn, wheat, and soybean crops were severely damaged. The hail broke windows on several homes, damaged siding and shingles, and damaged vehicles.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake$5,000Thunderstorm Winds blew a large tree down onto a vehicle and small shed.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-Photos of thunderstorm wind damage posted to social media include multiple trees damaged or toppled.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-Trained spotter reports an uprooted pine tree and four inch diameter branches broken off of multiple trees.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-On Dry Lake, winds caused a boat to capsize, and three boaters required rescue.
June 2024Flash FloodWillow Lake-Emergency management reported water over 422nd ave and 424th ave around highway 28.
August 2023Tornado (EF0)Willow Lake-Law enforcement and a storm chaser reported the brief touchdown of a tornado in an open field. The tornado path was later visible on hi-resolution satellite imagery.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-Emergency management reported that thunderstorm winds had blown in the doors on a barn.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-Both a storage garage and a shed were destroyed by estimated 75 mph wind gusts.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-A tree was toppled onto a house by estimated 70 mph winds.
July 2018HailWillow Lake-Quarter size hail and strong winds damaged many acres of corn and beans.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-Sixty mph winds were estimated.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-Sixty-five mph winds downed a large evergreen tree.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-Seventy mph winds rolled a couple grain bins.
June 2012Tornado (EF0)Willow Lake-A tornado touched down briefly north of Willow Lake with no damage reported.
June 2012Tornado (EF0)Willow Lake-A tornado touched down briefly south of Willow Lake with no damage occuring.
May 2007Flash FloodWillow Lake-Very heavy rains of 3 to nearly 7 inches fell across much of Clark county causing flash flooding. Many roads were flooded and damaged with a bridge washed out south of Carpenter. Many homes received water in their basements which resulted in damage for some. Also, thousands of acres of cropland were flooded with many seeds and large quantities of fertilizer washed away.||Rainfall amounts included 4 to 5 inches in the Vienna/Willow Lake area, 5.7 inches in Garden City, 6.72 inches in Clark, and 7.35 inches in Carpenter.
May 2007FloodWillow Lake-Widespread flooding from very heavy rains continued across much of Clark county into May 7th. Many roads were flooded and damaged with a bridge washed out south of Carpenter. Many homes received water in their basements which resulted in damage for some. Also, thousands of acres of cropland were flooded with many seeds and large quantities of fertilizer washed away.|
May 2007Flash FloodWillow Lake-Very heavy rains of 3 to nearly 7 inches fell across much of Clark county causing flash flooding. Many roads were flooded and damaged with a bridge washed out south of Carpenter. Many homes received water in their basements which resulted in damage for some. Also, thousands of acres of cropland were flooded with many seeds and large quantities of fertilizer washed away.||Rainfall amounts included 4 to 5 inches in the Vienna/Willow Lake area, 5.7 inches in Garden City, 6.72 inches in Clark, and 7.35 inches in Carpenter.
June 2003Tornado (F1)Willow Lake-A tornado moved into southern Clark County from Kingsbury county. The tornado snapped off many trees and blew them considerable distances before it dissipated.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-High winds blew a pole barn several feet across a gravel road.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-At the Prairie Retreat located 5 miles south of Willow Lake, winds gusting to over 80 mph uprooted many trees, destroyed a large yard glider, broke out some windows, blew off a barn door, with damage sustained to several other buildings.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-no account filed
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2024HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 2024HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 2024HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2023HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2023HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2022HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2022HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 2015HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 2015HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 2015HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2014HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2012HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2010HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2009HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2009HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2009HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2009HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 2009HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2009HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 2008HailWillow Lake-no account filed
September 2008HailWillow Lake-no account filed
April 2007HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 2004HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 2003HailWillow Lake-no account filed
August 2002HailWillow Lake-no account filed
July 1999HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 1998HailWillow Lake-no account filed
August 1998HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 1996Tornado (F0)Willow Lake-no account filed
May 1996HailWillow Lake-no account filed
June 1996HailWillow Lake-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindWillow Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Clark 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
Melham5.5 miles8
Mayfield Colony5.6 miles8
Collins Colony6.3 miles8
Success (historical)6.6 miles8
Vienna8.9 miles8
Pitrodie (historical)11.8 miles8
Carlton (historical)11.9 miles8
Naples12.0 miles8

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 Willow LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2211869The 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 1259028. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.