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Superior, Wisconsin

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1980. It stands in Superior City. It lies in ZIP code area 54880. The Survey maps it on the Superior quadrangle. 26,751 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 876 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Superior within Douglas County

On record in Superior

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 12 of 16 shown

Every listing in Douglas County

Population over time

2 figures

Superior fell from 27,244 to 26,751 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
201027,244
202026,751-493 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 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

49 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Superior between 1995 and 2020, burning about 70 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 6 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
Debris and open burning10
Missing data/not specified/undetermined9
Railroad operations and maintenance9
Recreation and ceremony6
Arson/incendiarism6
Fireworks3
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Other causes1
Natural1

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
18 August 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 August 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 August 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 July 2017Fireworksunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 July 2020Fireworksunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 July 2019Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
5 June 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
26 June 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Douglas County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Superior: 4 plants, 4 producers, 1 unknown. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sulfur. 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
(Facility) Superior Refinery--Murphy Oil CoSulfurPlant
Albany Crushing PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Albany Crushing Plant PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant
Arrowhead Blacktop CoStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Mailing PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Mclean DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Smith QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Superior Grinding PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenPlant
Superior Lime PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenPlant

Every working recorded in Douglas County

Storms near this place

51 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Superior in 51 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 29 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 4 lightning, 1 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 2005LightningSuperior$60,000Lightning struck a wood pile at Johnson Timber Corporation woodyard, causing the wood to catch fire. Four hundred cords of wood were destroyed.
March 2000LightningSuperior$15,000Lightning struck a home and started a fire on the second floor. No one was injured.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindSuperior$5,000Trees 50-60 feet high were blown down on a house.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindSuperior$3,000A half dozen 6-inch diameter trees were blown down on County Road A near the Nemadji Golf Course.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindSouth Superior$2,000Trees and fence panels were blown down.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindSouth Superior$1,000Fence panels were broken by winds and then blown into a window during the storm.
September 1999LightningSuperior$500no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSuperior-An 18 to 24 inch diameter silver maple tree was snapped about 8 feet up in front of the old library.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindSouth Superior-A photo was received showing an uprooted tree about 2 feet in diameter on the ground in the Village of Superior near highways 105 and 35.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindSuperior-A gust of 62 mph was recorded by the MnDOT RWIS station MN081 just south of the main span of the Blatnik Bridge over the St. Louis River.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Multiple reports of trees down were received from around Superior.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindSuperior-A large tree was downed by the storm in Superior.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindSuperior-A large tree was uprooted near Superior City Hall. Several other reports of downed trees and branches were received from the central part of Superior as well.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindSuperior-The roof of a large industrial building on the far north end of Superior on the waterfront was severely damaged and partially blown off.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindSuperior-A 12 inch diameter 40 foot tall pine tree was blown down onto a deck.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindSuperior-A large tree was knocked down and damaged a house and fence.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindSuperior-There was a large tree down along Belknap Street.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Two docks on Barker Island were damaged.
June 2015HailSuperior-The hail fell in the Billings Park neighborhood of Superior, WI.
August 2012Tornado (EF0)Superior-A weak waterspout made landfall as a brief tornado at Bakers Island. There was no damage.
May 2009HailSuperior-The hail fell near the Mariner Mall.
August 2008HailSuperior-The hail was reported near the mouth of the Nemadji River.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Large trees were blown down and windows of a house were shattered by strong thunderstorm winds.
September 2007HailSuperior-Penny sized hail.
May 2007HailSuperior-The hail fell at the UW Superior campus.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Power was lost when trees fell on power lines.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Trees were blown down on Wisconsin Point.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Trees were blown down in the Billings Park area.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Strong winds ripped the roof off a house trailer.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Trees from 8 to 10 inches in diameter were blown down. Wind speed is estimated.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindSuperior-Many trees were blown down.
July 1994HailSuperior-A powerful tornado cut a short but devasting path in northern Manitowoc County from two and one-half miles northwest of Maribel to near Cooperstown. A second smaller tornado also developed two miles southwest of Cooperstown and carved out a minor damage path leveling a shed and tossing a grain box about 300 yards. Much of the $2.1 million damage inflicted by the first tornado included 26 homes, $906,000; 19 vehicles and one mobile home, $300,000; household contents, $245,000; three barns, $160,000; Wisconsin Public Service property, $50,000; crops, $304,800; and four heifers and two sheep killed, $3,600. One man was injured when he was struck by a 55 gallon drum, and a woman suffered minor injuries when pieces of a stone foundation fell on her. A severe thunderstorm dropped one inch diameter hail in Superior (Douglas County).
July 2023HailSuperior-no account filed
June 2021HailSuperior-no account filed
July 2021HailSuperior-no account filed
May 2012HailSuperior-no account filed
September 2011HailSuperior-no account filed
June 2010HailSuperior-no account filed
August 2008HailSuperior-no account filed
July 2006HailSuperior-no account filed
April 2004HailSuperior-no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindSuperior-no account filed
August 2002HailSuperior-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindSuperior-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindSuperior-no account filed
August 2000Thunderstorm WindSuperior-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindSuperior-no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindSuperior-no account filed
August 1998HailSuperior-no account filed
August 1996LightningSuperior-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindSuperior-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Douglas 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
Park Place Homes0.8 miles16
Billings Park1.1 miles16
Central Park1.8 miles16
East End2.5 miles16
South Superior3.6 miles16
Superior Village4.4 miles16
Allouez4.8 miles16
Riverview5.3 miles20

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 SuperiorAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q984577The 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 1575125. 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.