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

Lake Poinsett

501 people, 1,670 ft above sea level in Hamlin County.

1,670 ftElevation, city center
501People, 2024 estimate
5 sq miLand area
Clear 33°
Clear now Dew point 26° · SE 12 mph · high 33°
City of Lake Poinsett River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Lake Poinsett 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 Lake Poinsett

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 7:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Brookings Municipal Airport (KBKX) · 7:56 PM
Clear
33° Clear Feels like 24° · high of 33° near 8 PM
WindSE 12 mphno gusts
Humidity75%rising to 88% by morning
Pressure30.21 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 26° · Dry41° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday80% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 40.19 in · 10 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Hamlin County
NWS Aberdeen and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 8:17 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:23 AM5:02 PM ↓
9 h 38 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
74
MODERATEAir quality index · ozone
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
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear day
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
windy
windy
partly cloudy night
TEMPERATURE °F
33°
29°
46°
37°
52°
40°
50°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
12
12
12
12
13
16
16
15
15
15
15
16
17
20
20
15
15
15
15
16
18
22
22
20
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 41° 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 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
33° 29°
0% rain — SSE 12 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
48° 34°
0% rain — S 15, gusts 26 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 38°
0% rain — SSW 18, gusts 30 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
52° 41°
0% rain — S 20, gusts 30 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 36°
20% rain — SW 14 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
46° 33°
20% rain — E 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
52° 34°
80% rain 0.08–0.9″ SE 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 Lake Poinsett about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the northern Rockies three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 870 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 Northwest. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Lake Poinsett stands on

Lake Poinsett’s center stands about 1,670 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,650 ft to 1,770 ft, a difference of 120 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.

Lake Poinsett, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
1,700 ft1,800 ft LAKE POINSETT1,670 ftHigh point of the line1,830 ftLow point1,650 ft ← S · ArlingtonN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. 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.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Lake Poinsett’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Lake Poinsett reaches the Gulf of America by way of Lake Poinsett, the Big Sioux, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,220 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Lake Poinsett≈ 2,220 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF LAKE POINSETT ≈ 2,220 mi to the Gulf of America Lake Poinsett → Big Sioux → Missouri → Mississippi

Lake on the way: Lake Poinsett.

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 Lake Poinsett; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Lake Poinsett on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Watertown SD · 23 MI 23 miles north Brookings SD · 24 MI 24 miles southeast Sioux Falls SD · 74 MI 74 miles south Sioux City IA · 148 MI 148 miles south Plymouth MN · 182 MI 182 miles east Bloomington MN · 187 MI 187 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Lake Poinsett, South Dakota. Explore the plate
SOUTH DAKOTA · HAMLIN

Lake Poinsett

501 people, 1,670 ft above sea level in Hamlin County.

1,670 ftElevation
501People
5 sq miLand
Clear 33°
ClearDew point 26°
1

Today in Lake Poinsett

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly clear night 33° 0%
11p partly cloudy night 32° 0%
2a mostly clear night 31° 0%
5a mostly clear night 30° 0%
8a clear day 30° 0%
11a mostly sunny 40° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 80%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
29
33
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
34
48
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
54
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
41
52
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
36
57
C
Thu20%
Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
33
46
C
Fri80%
Showers likely Showers likely
34
52
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Lake Poinsett stands on

Lake Poinsett’s center stands about 1,670 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,650 ft to 1,770 ft, a difference of 120 ft: gently rolling country.

Lake Poinsett, south to north Lake Poinsett1,670 ftHigh point1,830 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,670 ft
Within 3 miles1,650 to 1,770 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (120 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfacePierre Shale
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,220 mito the Gulf of AmericaLake Poinsett → Big Sioux → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Lake Poinsett reaches the Gulf of America by way of Lake Poinsett, the Big Sioux, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,220 river miles.

Lake on the way: Lake Poinsett.

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