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

Vermillion

11,877 people, 1,240 ft above sea level in Clay County.

1,240 ftElevation, city center
11,877People, 2024 estimate
5 sq miLand area
Sunny 48°
Sunny now Dew point 28° · S 14 mph · high 44°
City of Vermillion River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Vermillion 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 Vermillion

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW VERMILLION (KVMR) · 1:35 PM
Sunny
48° Sunny Feels like 43° · high of 44° near 3 PM
WindS 14 mphno gusts
Humidity46%falling to 60% this afternoon
Pressure30.19 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 28° · Dry44° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday90% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.12 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Clay County
NWS Sioux Falls and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 1:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:18 AM5:06 PM ↓
9 h 47 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
34
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
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
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1p
4p
7p
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1a
4a
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clear day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
mostly sunny
clear night
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
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
42°
30°
50°
36°
55°
41°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
14
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 28 to 44° 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 49° / 26°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
44° 30°
0% rain — SSE 14 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
52° 36°
0% rain — S 12 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
56° 41°
0% rain — S 15, gusts 29 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 46°
0% rain — S 16, gusts 28 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
60° 41°
20% rain — SW 13 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
53° 40°
10% rain — ENE 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
59° 46°
90% rain 0.3–1.4″ SSE 14 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 Vermillion about 5,000 feet above the ground was over Texas three days ago, and over the southern Plains a day ago, about 1,020 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 the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Rockies. 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.

THIS WEEK, ONE YEAR AGO Nov. 14, 2025

The hottest this week has been

80° on Nov. 14, 2025, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 79° in 1953.

79°
80°
19532025
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Vermillion 2 SE record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Vermillion stands on

Vermillion’s center stands about 1,240 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,120 ft to 1,250 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Pumpkin Hill, about 1,430 ft, 7 miles south-southeast.

The section below crosses 7 rock units mapped at the surface.

Vermillion, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,100 ft1,200 ft1,300 ft1,400 ft1,500 ft VERMILLION1,240 ftHigh point of the line1,540 ftMissouri Riverabout 1,120 ft ← SWNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 45×. 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

Dakota Formation

Sandstone. Age: Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, 66 to 145 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Greenhorn Formation

Shale, mudstone, marlstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Niobrara Formation

Limestone, shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Graneros Shale

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Carlile Shale

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Carlile Shale

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale. 1 smaller unit along the line are not listed.

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 Vermillion’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Vermillion reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Vermillion, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,930 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Vermillion≈ 1,930 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF VERMILLION ≈ 1,930 mi to the Gulf of America Vermillion → Missouri → Mississippi

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 Vermillion; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Vermillion’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Vermillion 2 SE

Vermillion has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 10° in January. About 28 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

31°10°36°14°48°25°62°36°73°48°82°59°86°63°83°61°78°52°65°38°48°25°34°15° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY VERMILLION 28.0 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average86° / 63°high / low, the warmest month
January, average31° / 10°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year28.0 inwettest months: June and May
Hottest on record114°FJuly 17, 1936
Coldest on record−38°FJanuary 12, 1912
Wettest day on record6.38 inAugust 18, 1937
Snowiest day on record15.0 inNovember 28, 1983
90° days a year30about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°153and 47 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 4, to the last in spring, about May 1 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 19 to Jan. 31; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 30 to April 4; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 11.9 of the year’s 28.0 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Vermillion normally reaches 49° and falls to 26°. The record high is 80°, in 2025; the record low −24°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 1.26 in, fell in 1926.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high31°36°48°62°73°82°86°83°78°65°48°34°
Normal low10°14°25°36°48°59°63°61°52°38°25°15°
Rain, inches0.530.701.423.093.964.303.612.883.072.351.300.79
Record high74° (2002)79° (1896)95° (2026)99° (1910)106° (1934)108° (1988)114° (1936)112° (1930)106° (1895)98° (1963)83° (1999)69° (1970)
Record low−38° (1912)−33° (1988)−30° (1893)1° (2018)20° (1967)36° (1956)37° (1972)34° (1916)23° (1984)3° (1925)−24° (1959)−32° (1917)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Vermillion 2 SE, here, 100 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Vermillion on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Yankton SD · 25 MI 25 miles west Sioux City IA · 34 MI 34 miles southeast Sioux Falls SD · 53 MI 53 miles north Omaha NE · 114 MI 114 miles southeast Lincoln NE · 137 MI 137 miles south Des Moines IA · 189 MI 189 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Vermillion, South Dakota. Explore the plate
SOUTH DAKOTA · CLAY

Vermillion

11,877 people, 1,240 ft above sea level in Clay County.

1,240 ftElevation
11,877People
5 sq miLand
Sunny 48°
SunnyDew point 28°
1

Today in Vermillion

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 42° 0%
4p partly cloudy day 43° 0%
7p partly cloudy night 38° 0%
10p partly cloudy night 34° 0%
1a partly cloudy night 32° 0%
4a mostly clear night 31° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 90%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
30
44
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
36
52
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
41
56
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
46
56
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
41
60
C
Thu10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
40
53
C
Fri90%
Showers likely Showers likely
46
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, ONE YEAR AGO · NOV. 14, 2025

80°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Vermillion stands on

Vermillion’s center stands about 1,240 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,120 ft to 1,250 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Pumpkin Hill, about 1,430 ft, 7 miles south-southeast.

Vermillion, southwest to northeast Vermillion1,240 ftMissouri Riverabout 1,120 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 86×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,240 ft
Within 3 miles1,120 to 1,250 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (130 ft of relief)
High point nearbyPumpkin Hill, 1,430 ft, 7 mi south-southeast
5

Vermillion’s year

Vermillion has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 10° in January. About 28 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 28.0 in
July, average86° / 63° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average31° / 10° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year28.0 in · wettest months: June and May
Hottest on record114°F · July 17, 1936
Coldest on record−38°F · January 12, 1912
Wettest day on record6.38 in · August 18, 1937
Snowiest day on record15.0 in · November 28, 1983
90° days a year30 · about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°153 · and 47 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 4, to the last in spring, about May 1 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 19 to Jan. 31; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 30 to April 4; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 11.9 of the year’s 28.0 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Vermillion normally reaches 49° and falls to 26°. The record high is 80°, in 2025; the record low −24°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 1.26 in, fell in 1926.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Vermillion 2 SE, here, 100 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,930 mito the Gulf of AmericaVermillion → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Vermillion reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Vermillion, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,930 river miles.

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