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

Stanley

2,214 people, 2,240 ft above sea level in Mountrail County.

2,240 ftElevation, city center
2,214People, 2024 estimate
5 sq miLand area
Sunny 43°
Sunny now Dew point 41° · S 21 mph · high 45°
City of Stanley River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Stanley 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 Stanley

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Stanley Municipal Airport (K08D) · 2:15 PM
Sunny
43° Sunny Feels like 34° · high of 45° near 3 PM
WindS 21 mphgusts 29
Humidity93%falling to 71% this afternoon
Pressure29.83 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 41° · Dry33° by Monday: drier air arrives
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Wednesday40% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 20.33 in · 12 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Mountrail County
NWS Bismarck and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:55 AM5:12 PM ↓
9 h 17 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% 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
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
overcast
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
44°
34°
51°
35°
54°
37°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
18
13
14
13
12
10
10
12
9
6
5
5
6
6
6
8
7
3
0
0
0
1
3
8
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 33 to 41°

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 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
45° 32°
0% rain — SSE 18, gusts 29 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
52° 33°
0% rain — S 10 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
55° 35°
0% rain — WSW 7 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
49° 31°
0% rain — ENE 8 B
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
39° 26°
40% rain up to 0.2″ NW 9 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
38° 25°
20% rain — E 7 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
36° 22°
30% rain up to 0.1″ NE 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 Stanley about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the northern Rockies a day ago, about 1,590 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific north of Hawaii. 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.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Stanley stands on

Stanley’s center stands about 2,240 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,150 ft to 2,360 ft, a difference of 210 ft: rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Sentinel Butte Formation (siltstone, claystone, sandstone), from the Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old.

Stanley, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
2,000 ft2,200 ft2,400 ft STANLEY2,240 ftHigh point of the line2,460 ftLow point2,020 ft ← NWSE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 44×. 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 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.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Stanley’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Stanley reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Little Knife, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,690 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Stanley≈ 2,690 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF STANLEY ≈ 2,690 mi to the Gulf of America Little Knife → Missouri → Mississippi

Lakes on the way: Lake Oahe, Lake Sakakawea, Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

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

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Stanley on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Minot ND · 52 MI 52 miles east Bismarck ND · 128 MI 128 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Stanley, North Dakota. Explore the plate
NORTH DAKOTA · MOUNTRAIL

Stanley

2,214 people, 2,240 ft above sea level in Mountrail County.

2,240 ftElevation
2,214People
5 sq miLand
Sunny 43°
SunnyDew point 41°
1

Today in Stanley

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy day 44° 0%
5p partly cloudy night 43° 0%
8p partly cloudy night 38° 0%
11p mostly clear night 36° 0%
2a mostly clear night 35° 0%
5a mostly clear night 35° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINWednesday · 40%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
32
45
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
33
52
B
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
35
55
B
Tue0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
31
49
B
Wed40%
Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
26
39
B
Thu20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
25
38
B
Fri30%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
22
36
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Stanley stands on

Stanley’s center stands about 2,240 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,150 ft to 2,360 ft, a difference of 210 ft: rolling country.

Stanley, northwest to southeast Stanley2,240 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 84×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center2,240 ft
Within 3 miles2,150 to 2,360 ft
Lie of the landRolling (210 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceSentinel Butte Formation
Its agePaleocene, 56 to 66 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,690 mito the Gulf of AmericaLittle Knife → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Stanley reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Little Knife, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,690 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Lake Oahe, Lake Sakakawea, Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.