FORECAST CITY
Sign in
Shaded-relief map of Spencer, Minnesota: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
MINNESOTA · AITKIN COUNTY

Spencer

554 people, 1,210 ft above sea level in Aitkin County.

1,210 ftElevation, city center
554People, 2024 estimate
37 sq miLand area
Sunny 36°
Sunny now Dew point 24° · SSE 5 mph · high 34°
City of Spencer River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Spencer 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 Spencer

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Aitkin Municipal Airport - Steve Kurtz Field (KAIT) · 4:35 PM
Sunny
36° Sunny Feels like 32° · high of 34° near 4 PM
WindSSE 5 mphno gusts
Humidity62%rising to 92% by morning
Pressure30.25 in →steady
Visibility9 mihazy
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 24° · Dry40° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Wednesday40% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 110.02 in · 3 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Aitkin County
NWS Duluth and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:15 AM4:42 PM ↓
9 h 27 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
16
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
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
34°
28°
45°
35°
51°
40°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
3
7
9
9
8
9
9
9
10
10
12
11
9
9
8
8
9
10
12
12
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 23 to 40° More humid: 40° 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 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
34° 25°
0% rain — SSE 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
46° 33°
0% rain — S 8 A
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
52° 38°
0% rain — SSW 11 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
52° 42°
10% rain — S 9 A
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers Chance of showers
53° 42°
40% rain up to 0.08″ S 8 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
49° 34°
20% rain — WNW 3 B
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
49° 39°
70% rain 0.03–0.8″ ESE 8 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 Spencer about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the open Pacific three days ago, and over the Canadian Prairies a day ago, about 2,600 miles back along its path. It came down from about 13,400 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. It feels dry all the same. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Spencer stands on

Spencer’s center stands about 1,210 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,190 ft to 1,290 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Fire Tower Hill, about 1,400 ft, 8 miles south-southwest.

The section below crosses 7 rock units mapped at the surface.

Ross Lake to Glen, cut in half

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,200 ft1,300 ft1,400 ft SPENCER1,210 ftMississippi Riverabout 1,200 ftGlen1,320 ft ← NW · Ross LakeGlen · SE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. 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

Interlayered volcanic, volcaniclastic, sedimentary, and hypabyssal intrusive rocks

Volcanic, sedimentary, hypabyssal. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2.5 billion years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Slate and graywacke

Slate, graywacke. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2 billion years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Mille Lacs and North Range Groups and equivalent sedimentary rocks

Siltstone, graywacke, slate. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2.5 billion years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Dam Lake quartzite

Quartzite. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2.5 billion years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Interlayered volcanic and sedimentary rocks

Volcanic, sedimentary. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2.5 billion years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Graywacke and slate with graphitic and sulfidic zones

Graywacke, slate. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2.5 billion years old. About 0.6 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale. 1 smaller unit along the line are not listed.

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.
MILE3
THE WATER

Where Spencer’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Spencer reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Mississippi: about 2,050 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Spencer≈ 2,050 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF SPENCER ≈ 2,050 mi to the Gulf of America Mississippi

Lake on the way: Lake Pepin.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Spencer; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Spencer on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Minneapolis MN · 111 MI 111 miles south St. Paul MN · 114 MI 114 miles south Bloomington MN · 120 MI 120 miles south Fargo ND · 153 MI 153 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of Spencer, Minnesota. Explore the plate
MINNESOTA · AITKIN

Spencer

554 people, 1,210 ft above sea level in Aitkin County.

1,210 ftElevation
554People
37 sq miLand
Sunny 36°
SunnyDew point 24°
1

Today in Spencer

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 34° 0%
7p partly cloudy night 32° 0%
10p mostly cloudy night 29° 0%
1a partly cloudy night 28° 0%
4a mostly clear night 28° 0%
7a partly cloudy day 28° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINWednesday · 40%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
25
34
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
33
46
A
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
38
52
B
Tue10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42
52
A
Wed40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
42
53
B
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
34
49
B
Fri70%
Showers likely Showers likely
39
49
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Spencer stands on

Spencer’s center stands about 1,210 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,190 ft to 1,290 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Fire Tower Hill, about 1,400 ft, 8 miles south-southwest.

Spencer, northwest to southeast Spencer1,210 ftMississippi Riverabout 1,200 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,210 ft
Within 3 miles1,190 to 1,290 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (100 ft of relief)
High point nearbyFire Tower Hill, 1,400 ft, 8 mi south-southwest
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,050 mito the Gulf of AmericaMississippi

A raindrop that lands in Spencer reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Mississippi: about 2,050 river miles.

Lake on the way: Lake Pepin.