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

Voltaire

43 people, 1,590 ft above sea level in McHenry County.

1,590 ftElevation, city center
43People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 50°
Sunny now Dew point 36° · SE 15 mph · high 43°
City of Voltaire River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Voltaire 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 Voltaire

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Minot International Airport (KMOT) · 3:54 PM
Sunny
50° Sunny Feels like 45° · high of 43° near 4 PM
WindSE 15 mphgusts 24
Humidity58%rising to 92% by morning
Pressure29.88 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 36° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Wednesday30% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 20.52 in · 12 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for McHenry County
NWS Bismarck and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:48 AM5:07 PM ↓
9 h 19 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
31
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
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
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly 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
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
43°
34°
53°
36°
57°
36°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
15
13
12
12
13
12
14
13
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
7
6
5
4
1
0
2
5
7
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 31 to 41°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 40° / 21°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
43° 32°
0% rain — SSE 15, gusts 25 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
53° 35°
0% rain — S 13 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 35°
0% rain — SW 8 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly cloudy; cooler Mostly cloudy; cooler
48° 32°
0% rain — E 6 C
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
40° 28°
30% rain up to 0.2″ NW 9 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
38° 27°
20% rain — E 6 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
37° 24°
30% rain up to 0.2″ NNE 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 Voltaire about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 1,820 miles back along its path. It came down from about 10,600 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. 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 Voltaire stands on

Voltaire’s center stands about 1,590 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,570 ft to 1,640 ft, a difference of 70 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Dogden Butte, about 2,280 ft, 15 miles south-southeast.

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.

Voltaire, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,500 ft1,750 ft2,000 ft VOLTAIRE1,590 ftHigh point of the line2,140 ftSouris Riverabout 1,490 ft ← SW · RusoNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 30×. 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

Cannonball Formation

Shale, sandstone. Age: Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old. About 11 mi of the line.

Bullion Creek Formation

Claystone, siltstone. Age: Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Hell Creek Formation

Sandstone, siltstone, claystone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Fox Hills Formation

Shale, sandstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 2 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 Voltaire’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Voltaire reaches Hudson Bay by way of Spring Creek, the Souris, the Assiniboine, the Red River of the North and the Nelson: about 1,160 river miles. Past the border it runs north through Canada to Hudson Bay.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Voltaire≈ 1,160 mi · Hudson Bay
FROM THE CENTER OF VOLTAIRE ≈ 1,160 mi to Hudson Bay Spring Creek → Souris → Assiniboine → Red River of the North → Nelson

Lake on the way: Lake Winnipeg.

400 miles of the trip are on the Nelson.

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

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Voltaire on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Minot ND · 25 MI 25 miles northwest Bismarck ND · 83 MI 83 miles south Grand Forks ND · 174 MI 174 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Voltaire, North Dakota. Explore the plate
NORTH DAKOTA · MCHENRY

Voltaire

43 people, 1,590 ft above sea level in McHenry County.

1,590 ftElevation
43People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 50°
SunnyDew point 36°
1

Today in Voltaire

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 43° 0%
7p partly cloudy night 38° 0%
10p partly cloudy night 37° 0%
1a clear night 35° 0%
4a mostly clear night 35° 0%
7a mostly clear night 35° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINWednesday · 30%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
43
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
35
53
B
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
35
57
B
Tue0%
Mostly cloudy; cooler Mostly cloudy; cooler
32
48
C
Wed30%
Chance of showers; cooler Chance of showers; cooler
28
40
C
Thu20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
27
38
B
Fri30%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
24
37
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Voltaire stands on

Voltaire’s center stands about 1,590 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,570 ft to 1,640 ft, a difference of 70 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Dogden Butte, about 2,280 ft, 15 miles south-southeast.

Voltaire, southwest to northeast Voltaire1,590 ftSouris Riverabout 1,490 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 57×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,590 ft
Within 3 miles1,570 to 1,640 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (70 ft of relief)
High point nearbyDogden Butte, 2,280 ft, 15 mi south-southeast
Rock at the surfaceCannonball Formation
Its agePaleocene, 56 to 66 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,160 mito Hudson BaySpring Creek → Souris → Assiniboine → Red River of the North → Nelson

A raindrop that lands in Voltaire reaches Hudson Bay by way of Spring Creek, the Souris, the Assiniboine, the Red River of the North and the Nelson: about 1,160 river miles. Past the border it runs north through Canada to Hudson Bay.

Lake on the way: Lake Winnipeg.

400 miles of the trip are on the Nelson.