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Shaded-relief map of Fort Totten, North Dakota: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
NORTH DAKOTA · BENSON COUNTY

Fort Totten

1,160 people, 1,490 ft above sea level in Benson County.

1,490 ftElevation, city center
1,160People, 2024 estimate
9 sq miLand area
Sunny 44°
Sunny now Dew point 30° · SSE 21 mph · high 38°
City of Fort Totten River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Fort Totten 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 Fort Totten

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Devils Lake Municipal Airport (KDVL) · 3:56 PM
Sunny
44° Sunny Feels like 36° · high of 38° near 4 PM
WindSSE 21 mphgusts 28
Humidity58%rising to 82% by morning
Pressure30.04 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 30° · Dry43° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Wednesday50% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 100.11 in · 4 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Benson County
NWS Grand Forks and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:40 AM5:00 PM ↓
9 h 19 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
—
Air quality index ·
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
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
mostly sunny
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
38°
33°
48°
37°
53°
37°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
17
15
14
15
15
15
17
17
14
12
11
10
8
9
9
8
7
7
6
5
5
7
8
8
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 27° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 43° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 35° / 18°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38° 32°
0% rain — SSE 17, gusts 30 A
SUN Nov. 15 Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
50° 35°
0% rain — S 16, gusts 28 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
53° 36°
0% rain — SSW 9 C
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
48° 35°
10% rain — SE 8 C
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers Chance of showers
43° 32°
50% rain up to 0.2″ NW 9 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
39° 30°
10% rain — N 5 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
38° 28°
40% rain up to 0.2″ ENE 10 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 Fort Totten about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Gulf of Alaska three days ago, and over the Canadian Prairies a day ago, about 2,040 miles back along its path. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific north of Hawaii. 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.

THIS WEEK, ONE YEAR AGO Nov. 14, 2025

The hottest this week has been

66° on Nov. 14, 2025, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1963. Next is 60° in 2016.

60°
66°
20162025
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Devils Lake Municipal Airport record since 1963.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Fort Totten stands on

Fort Totten’s center stands about 1,490 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,440 ft to 1,720 ft, a difference of 280 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Sullys Hill, about 1,760 ft, 2 miles east-northeast.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Pierre Formation (shale), from the Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old.

Fort Totten, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
1,400 ft1,500 ft1,600 ft1,700 ft FORT TOTTEN1,490 ftLow point1,430 ft ← W · OberonE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 59×. 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

Pierre Formation

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 24 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

Fort Totten’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1963 · Devils Lake Municipal Airport, 10 mi north-northeast

Fort Totten has a cold desert climate. Summer afternoons average 79° in July; winter nights fall to about −2° in January. Barely 0.0 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

16°−2°21°0°33°14°50°28°64°43°73°54°79°58°79°56°68°47°52°33°35°18°21°4° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 TODAY FORT TOTTEN 0.0 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Rain by month Freezing
July, average79° / 58°high / low, the warmest month
January, average16° / −2°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year0.0 inspread evenly through the year
Hottest on record103°FJune 4, 2021
Coldest on record−37°FJanuary 30, 2019
Wettest day on record4.03 inJune 9, 2002
Climate typeCold desertKöppen BWk

AROUND THE RING

1Highs below freezingNov. 21 to March 15; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezingOct. 17 to April 26; normal lows fall below 32°
MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high16°21°33°50°64°73°79°79°68°52°35°21°
Normal low−2°0°14°28°43°54°58°56°47°33°18°4°
Rain, inches0.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.00

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1963 at Devils Lake Municipal Airport, 10 miles north-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Fort Totten on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Grand Forks ND · 89 MI 89 miles east Minot ND · 106 MI 106 miles west Bismarck ND · 115 MI 115 miles southwest Fargo ND · 128 MI 128 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Fort Totten, North Dakota. Explore the plate
NORTH DAKOTA · BENSON

Fort Totten

1,160 people, 1,490 ft above sea level in Benson County.

1,490 ftElevation
1,160People
9 sq miLand
Sunny 44°
SunnyDew point 30°
1

Today in Fort Totten

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 38° 0%
7p mostly clear night 36° 0%
10p mostly clear night 36° 0%
1a mostly clear night 35° 0%
4a clear night 34° 0%
7a clear night 33° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINWednesday · 50%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
38
A
Sun0%
Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
35
50
B
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
36
53
C
Tue10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
35
48
C
Wed50%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
32
43
C
Thu10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
30
39
B
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
28
38
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, ONE YEAR AGO · NOV. 14, 2025

66°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1963.

2

What Fort Totten stands on

Fort Totten’s center stands about 1,490 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,440 ft to 1,720 ft, a difference of 280 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Sullys Hill, about 1,760 ft, 2 miles east-northeast.

Fort Totten, west to east Fort Totten1,490 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 112×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,490 ft
Within 3 miles1,440 to 1,720 ft
Lie of the landRolling (280 ft of relief)
High point nearbySullys Hill, 1,760 ft, 2 mi east-northeast
Rock at the surfacePierre Formation
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old
5

Fort Totten’s year

Fort Totten has a cold desert climate. Summer afternoons average 79° in July; winter nights fall to about −2° in January. Barely 0.0 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 0.0 in
July, average79° / 58° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average16° / −2° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year0.0 in · spread evenly through the year
Hottest on record103°F · June 4, 2021
Coldest on record−37°F · January 30, 2019
Wettest day on record4.03 in · June 9, 2002
Climate typeCold desert · Köppen BWk
1Highs below freezing · Nov. 21 to March 15; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezing · Oct. 17 to April 26; normal lows fall below 32°
Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1963 at Devils Lake Municipal Airport, 10 miles north-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.