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Shaded-relief map of Butterfield, Minnesota: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
MINNESOTA · WATONWAN COUNTY

Butterfield

597 people, 1,190 ft above sea level in Watonwan County.

1,190 ftElevation, city center
597People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 46°
Sunny now Dew point 25° · SSE 8 mph · high 43°
City of Butterfield River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Butterfield plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Butterfield

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 2:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW St. James Municipal Airport (KJYG) · 2:35 PM
Sunny
46° Sunny Feels like 42° · high of 43° near 2 PM
WindSSE 8 mphno gusts
Humidity42%falling to 53% this afternoon
Pressure30.24 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 25° · Dry41° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday80% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.11 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Watonwan County
NWS Twin Cities/Chanhassen and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:12 AM4:54 PM ↓
9 h 41 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
44
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
clear day
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
43°
26°
47°
35°
53°
40°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
8
6
6
7
7
7
9
12
12
9
10
12
12
13
15
17
17
13
13
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13
14
16
20
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 41° More humid: 41° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
43° 26°
0% rain — SSE 8 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
49° 34°
0% rain — S 10 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
55° 39°
0% rain — SSW 16, gusts 28 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
55° 44°
0% rain — S 15, gusts 26 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 44°
20% rain — S 13 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
53° 37°
10% rain — WNW 3 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
56° 45°
80% rain 0.2–0.9″ SSE 12 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Butterfield about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Canadian Prairies three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 1,010 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. It rose from near the ground on the way. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific off the Northwest. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1999 Nov. 14, 1999

The hottest this week has been

81° on Nov. 14, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1940. Next is 75° in 2015.

75°
81°
20151999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the St. James Wwtp record since 1940.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Butterfield stands on

Butterfield’s center stands about 1,190 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,120 ft to 1,250 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Undifferentiated (conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone), from the Late Cretaceous, 72 to 100 million years old.

The section below crosses 3 rock units mapped at the surface.

Lakeside to Riverdale, cut in half

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
1,100 ft1,200 ft1,300 ft BUTTERFIELD1,190 ftHigh point of the line1,390 ftLow point1,040 ft ← W · LakesideRiverdale · E →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 56×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Undifferentiated

Conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 72 to 100 million years old. About 13 mi of the line.

Sioux Quartzite

Quartzite, mudstone. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2 billion years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Middle and Upper Cambrian

Sandstone, siltstone, shale. Age: Middle Cambrian to Cambrian, 487 to 521 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Butterfield’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1940 · St. James Wwtp, 9 mi east-northeast

Butterfield has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 5° in January. A normal year brings about 50 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 33 inches of water.

23°5°28°10°40°22°56°35°69°48°79°58°83°62°80°59°74°51°60°37°43°25°29°12° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY BUTTERFIELD 33.1 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average83° / 62°high / low, the warmest month
January, average23° / 5°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow33.1 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year50.3 insnowiest: December
Hottest on record105°FJuly 31, 1988
Coldest on record−30°FFebruary 2, 1996
Wettest day on record7.50 inSeptember 23, 2010
Snowiest day on record18.0 inJanuary 19, 1988
90° days a year11very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°160and 77 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 3, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 7 to Feb. 27; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 27 to April 10; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 13.7 of the year’s 33.1 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Butterfield normally reaches 44° and falls to 25°. The record high is 81°, in 1999; the record low −8°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.85 in, fell in 1944.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high23°28°40°56°69°79°83°80°74°60°43°29°
Normal low5°10°22°35°48°58°62°59°51°37°25°12°
Rain and melt, in1.090.801.823.144.654.894.123.953.432.521.581.13
Snow, inches10.811.08.23.50.10.00.00.00.00.64.911.2
Record high64° (1981)67° (2024)85° (2025)93° (1985)102° (2013)104° (1988)105° (1988)101° (1988)98° (2022)92° (2023)82° (2006)68° (1998)
Record low−30° (1970)−30° (1996)−26° (1962)6° (2018)19° (1995)36° (1995)40° (1995)36° (2004)25° (1987)10° (2020)−13° (1977)−27° (1983)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1940 at St. James Wwtp, 9 miles east-northeast, 120 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Butterfield on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Sioux Falls SD · 101 MI 101 miles west Minneapolis MN · 102 MI 102 miles northeast St. Paul MN · 108 MI 108 miles northeast Des Moines IA · 175 MI 175 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Butterfield, Minnesota. Explore the plate
MINNESOTA · WATONWAN

Butterfield

597 people, 1,190 ft above sea level in Watonwan County.

1,190 ftElevation
597People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 46°
SunnyDew point 25°
1

Today in Butterfield

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 43° 0%
5p mostly clear night 37° 0%
8p partly cloudy night 32° 0%
11p mostly cloudy night 30° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 28° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 80%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
26
43
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
34
49
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
55
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
44
55
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
44
57
B
Thu10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
37
53
C
Fri80%
Showers likely Showers likely
45
56
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 14, 1999

81°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1940.

2

What Butterfield stands on

Butterfield’s center stands about 1,190 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,120 ft to 1,250 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country.

Butterfield, west to east Butterfield1,190 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 106×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,190 ft
Within 3 miles1,120 to 1,250 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (130 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceUndifferentiated
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 72 to 100 million years old
5

Butterfield’s year

Butterfield has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 5° in January. A normal year brings about 50 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 33 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 33.1 in
July, average83° / 62° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average23° / 5° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow33.1 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year50.3 in · snowiest: December
Hottest on record105°F · July 31, 1988
Coldest on record−30°F · February 2, 1996
Wettest day on record7.50 in · September 23, 2010
Snowiest day on record18.0 in · January 19, 1988
90° days a year11 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°160 · and 77 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 3, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 7 to Feb. 27; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 27 to April 10; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 13.7 of the year’s 33.1 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Butterfield normally reaches 44° and falls to 25°. The record high is 81°, in 1999; the record low −8°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.85 in, fell in 1944.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1940 at St. James Wwtp, 9 miles east-northeast, 120 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.