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

Mercer

126 people, 1,930 ft above sea level in McLean County.

1,930 ftElevation, city center
126People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 51°
Sunny now Dew point 36° · SSE 18 mph · high 45°
City of Mercer River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Mercer 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 Mercer

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 3:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Charlie(Ruso) TG (K1CN) · 2:55 PM
Sunny
51° Sunny Feels like 51° · high of 45° near 3 PM
WindSSE 18 mphno gusts
Humidity56%rising to 96% by morning
Pressure— in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 36° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Wednesday40% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 30.1 in · 11 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for McLean County
NWS Bismarck and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:46 AM5:08 PM ↓
9 h 22 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
35
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
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
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
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Noon
3p
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9p
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3a
6a
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3a
6a
9a
Noon
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
mostly clear night
partly cloudy 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
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
45°
33°
52°
34°
54°
36°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
18
16
16
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12
8
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 30 to 34° ↑ Humid air returns 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 39° / 19°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
45° 32°
0% rain — SSE 18, gusts 31 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
53° 32°
0% rain — S 16, gusts 28 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 34°
0% rain — SW 7 C
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
50° 32°
0% rain — E 7 C
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
42° 28°
40% rain up to 0.1″ WNW 10 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
39° 26°
20% rain — E 6 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
39° 24°
40% rain up to 0.3″ NE 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 Mercer about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Canadian Prairies three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 970 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 a point about 13,620 miles to the east. 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. 13, 1999

The hottest this week has been

71° on Nov. 13, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1912. Next is 70° in 1953.

70°
71°
19531999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Turtle Lake record since 1912.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Mercer stands on

Mercer’s center stands about 1,930 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,820 ft to 2,000 ft, a difference of 180 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Cannonball Formation (shale, sandstone), from the Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old.

The section below crosses 4 rock units mapped at the surface.

Mercer, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
1,800 ft1,900 ft2,000 ft2,100 ft MERCER1,930 ftLow point1,800 ftHigh point of the line2,200 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 48×. 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

Sentinel Butte Formation

Siltstone, claystone, sandstone. Age: Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Hell Creek Formation

Sandstone, siltstone, claystone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Cannonball Formation

Shale, sandstone. Age: Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Bullion Creek Formation

Claystone, siltstone. Age: Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old. About 3 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

Mercer’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1912 · Turtle Lake, 9 mi west-northwest

Mercer has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 1° in January. A normal year brings about 44 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 18 inches of water.

20°1°25°4°37°16°54°28°67°40°76°51°83°56°82°54°72°44°55°32°38°19°25°7° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY MERCER 18.2 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average83° / 56°high / low, the warmest month
January, average20° / 1°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow18.2 inwettest months: June and July
Snow a year44.1 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record115°FJuly 10, 1936
Coldest on record−50°FFebruary 16, 1936
Wettest day on record4.42 inAugust 27, 1928
Snowiest day on record20.0 inApril 13, 2022
90° days a year16about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°195and 91 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Sept. 28, to the last in spring, about May 15 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingNov. 27 to March 7; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 14 to April 28; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 8.6 of the year’s 18.2 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Mercer normally reaches 39° and falls to 19°. The record high is 65°, in 2001; the record low −21°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 0.45 in, fell in 1955.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high20°25°37°54°67°76°83°82°72°55°38°25°
Normal low1°4°16°28°40°51°56°54°44°32°19°7°
Rain and melt, in0.550.420.841.322.563.472.582.191.761.290.610.63
Snow, inches10.56.55.72.30.60.00.00.00.01.78.97.9
Record high57° (2012)65° (1958)80° (2012)95° (1980)98° (2025)108° (1936)115° (1936)109° (1941)106° (1978)95° (1963)78° (1999)67° (1939)
Record low−47° (1916)−50° (1936)−34° (1948)−8° (1975)11° (1967)29° (1946)34° (1927)31° (1982)13° (1942)−12° (1919)−27° (1914)−41° (1916)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1912 at Turtle Lake, 9 miles west-northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Mercer on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Bismarck ND · 47 MI 47 miles south Minot ND · 58 MI 58 miles northwest Grand Forks ND · 171 MI 171 miles east Fargo ND · 188 MI 188 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Mercer, North Dakota. Explore the plate
NORTH DAKOTA · MCLEAN

Mercer

126 people, 1,930 ft above sea level in McLean County.

1,930 ftElevation
126People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 51°
SunnyDew point 36°
1

Today in Mercer

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 45° 0%
6p mostly clear night 40° 0%
9p mostly clear night 36° 0%
12a mostly clear night 34° 0%
3a mostly clear night 34° 0%
6a mostly clear night 34° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINWednesday · 40%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
45
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
32
53
B
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
34
56
C
Tue0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
32
50
C
Wed40%
Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
28
42
C
Thu20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
26
39
B
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
24
39
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 13, 1999

71°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1912.

2

What Mercer stands on

Mercer’s center stands about 1,930 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,820 ft to 2,000 ft, a difference of 180 ft: gently rolling country.

Mercer, west to east Mercer1,930 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 91×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,930 ft
Within 3 miles1,820 to 2,000 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (180 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceCannonball Formation
Its agePaleocene, 56 to 66 million years old
5

Mercer’s year

Mercer has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 1° in January. A normal year brings about 44 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 18 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 18.2 in
July, average83° / 56° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average20° / 1° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow18.2 in · wettest months: June and July
Snow a year44.1 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record115°F · July 10, 1936
Coldest on record−50°F · February 16, 1936
Wettest day on record4.42 in · August 27, 1928
Snowiest day on record20.0 in · April 13, 2022
90° days a year16 · about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°195 · and 91 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Sept. 28, to the last in spring, about May 15 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Nov. 27 to March 7; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 14 to April 28; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 8.6 of the year’s 18.2 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Mercer normally reaches 39° and falls to 19°. The record high is 65°, in 2001; the record low −21°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 0.45 in, fell in 1955.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1912 at Turtle Lake, 9 miles west-northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.