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Shaded-relief map of Butler, South Dakota: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
SOUTH DAKOTA · DAY COUNTY

Butler

6 people, 1,820 ft above sea level in Day County.

1,820 ftElevation, city center
6People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 28° · S 20 mph · high 43°
City of Butler River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Butler 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 Butler

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Aberdeen Regional Airport (KABR) · 12:53 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 37° · high of 43° near 3 PM
WindS 20 mphgusts 31
Humidity51%falling to 57% this afternoon
Pressure30.10 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 28° · Dry44° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday70% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 21.09 in · 12 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Day County
NWS Aberdeen and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 1:17 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:27 AM5:02 PM ↓
9 h 35 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
58
MODERATEAir quality index · coarse 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
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
clear day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
41°
32°
51°
40°
56°
42°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
17
15
14
14
14
15
15
18
19
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16
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20
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 30° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 44° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 43° / 20°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
43° 31°
0% rain — SSE 16, gusts 29 A
SUN Nov. 15 Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
53° 38°
0% rain — S 18, gusts 33 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
57° 40°
0% rain — S 15, gusts 28 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
55° 40°
0% rain — S 16, gusts 29 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
54° 36°
20% rain — W 8 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
46° 32°
10% rain — ENE 6 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
47° 34°
70% rain 0.01–1.1″ E 12 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 Butler about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the northern Rockies three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 960 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. It rose from near the ground on the way. 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.

THIS WEEK IN 1953 Nov. 14, 1953

The hottest this week has been

70° on Nov. 14, 1953, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 70° in 2001.

70°
70°
20011953
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Webster record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Butler stands on

Butler’s center stands about 1,820 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,750 ft to 1,890 ft, a difference of 140 ft: gently rolling country.

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

Butler, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,400 ft1,600 ft1,800 ft BUTLER1,820 ftLow point1,440 ftHigh point of the line1,900 ft ← NWSE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 41×. 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 Shale

Shale, bentonite. 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

Butler’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Webster, 10 mi east-northeast

Butler has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 81° in July; winter nights fall to about 2° in January. A normal year brings about 43 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 26 inches of water.

20°2°25°6°38°19°53°32°66°45°76°56°81°61°79°59°71°50°55°36°39°21°25°9° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY BUTLER 26.1 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average81° / 61°high / low, the warmest month
January, average20° / 2°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow26.1 inwettest months: July and June
Snow a year42.8 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record108°FJuly 26, 1894
Coldest on record−43°FFebruary 1, 1895
Wettest day on record4.72 inJuly 8, 2026
Snowiest day on record20.0 inJanuary 4, 1997
90° days a year7very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°167and 89 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 8, to the last in spring, about May 8 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingNov. 28 to March 4; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 23 to April 17; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 11.4 of the year’s 26.1 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Butler normally reaches 40° and falls to 22°. The record high is 70°, in 1953; the record low −10°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.22 in, fell in 2006.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high20°25°38°53°66°76°81°79°71°55°39°25°
Normal low2°6°19°32°45°56°61°59°50°36°21°9°
Rain and melt, in0.840.751.112.223.393.974.022.972.562.470.711.06
Snow, inches9.67.95.15.00.00.00.00.00.01.46.07.8
Record high64° (1981)64° (1958)81° (2012)96° (1980)97° (1894)105° (1988)108° (1894)104° (1965)104° (1895)91° (2026)80° (1893)63° (1894)
Record low−36° (1972)−43° (1895)−32° (1896)−6° (1975)18° (1967)23° (1897)36° (1895)26° (1895)17° (1974)−1° (1895)−29° (1896)−34° (1967)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Webster, 10 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Butler on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Watertown SD · 36 MI 36 miles southeast Aberdeen SD · 39 MI 39 miles west Fargo ND · 118 MI 118 miles north Sioux Falls SD · 128 MI 128 miles south St. Cloud MN · 173 MI 173 miles east Bismarck ND · 182 MI 182 miles northwest
FORECASTCITY
Map of Butler, South Dakota. Explore the plate
SOUTH DAKOTA · DAY

Butler

6 people, 1,820 ft above sea level in Day County.

1,820 ftElevation
6People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 28°
1

Today in Butler

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 41° 0%
4p mostly sunny 42° 0%
7p partly cloudy night 37° 0%
10p mostly clear night 36° 0%
1a partly cloudy night 35° 0%
4a mostly clear night 34° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 70%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
31
43
A
Sun0%
Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
38
53
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
40
57
B
Tue0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
40
55
B
Wed20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
36
54
C
Thu10%
Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
32
46
C
Fri70%
Showers likely Showers likely
34
47
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1953 · NOV. 14, 1953

70°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Butler stands on

Butler’s center stands about 1,820 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,750 ft to 1,890 ft, a difference of 140 ft: gently rolling country.

Butler, northwest to southeast Butler1,820 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 79×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,820 ft
Within 3 miles1,750 to 1,890 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (140 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfacePierre Shale
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old
5

Butler’s year

Butler has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 81° in July; winter nights fall to about 2° in January. A normal year brings about 43 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 26 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 26.1 in
July, average81° / 61° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average20° / 2° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow26.1 in · wettest months: July and June
Snow a year42.8 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record108°F · July 26, 1894
Coldest on record−43°F · February 1, 1895
Wettest day on record4.72 in · July 8, 2026
Snowiest day on record20.0 in · January 4, 1997
90° days a year7 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°167 · and 89 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 8, to the last in spring, about May 8 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Nov. 28 to March 4; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 23 to April 17; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 11.4 of the year’s 26.1 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Butler normally reaches 40° and falls to 22°. The record high is 70°, in 1953; the record low −10°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.22 in, fell in 2006.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Webster, 10 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.