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

Waubay

474 people, 1,830 ft above sea level in Day County.

1,830 ftElevation, city center
474People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Sunny 46°
Sunny now Dew point 25° · SE 17 mph · high 43°
City of Waubay River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Waubay 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 Waubay

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 2:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW MILBANK (K1D1) · 2:30 PM
Sunny
46° Sunny Feels like 39° · high of 43° near 2 PM
WindSE 17 mphno gusts
Humidity42%falling to 60% this afternoon
Pressure30.18 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 25° · Dry45° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday80% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.42 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Day County
NWS Aberdeen and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:26 AM5:01 PM ↓
9 h 34 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
50
GOODAir 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
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 sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear day
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
43°
30°
51°
41°
56°
42°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
12
8
8
7
7
8
9
13
14
12
13
13
13
13
13
15
13
8
9
9
9
10
14
17
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 30° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 45° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 42° / 22°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
43° 29°
0% rain — SSE 11 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
53° 39°
0% rain — S 12 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
57° 41°
0% rain — SSW 13 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
55° 44°
0% rain — S 14 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 40°
20% rain — SSW 8 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
48° 35°
10% rain — NNW 3 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
51° 39°
80% rain 0.07–1.0″ ESE 9 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 Waubay about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 1,660 miles back along its path. It came down from about 14,300 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.

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 Waubay stands on

Waubay’s center stands about 1,830 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,790 ft to 1,900 ft, a difference of 110 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.

Webster to Summit, cut in half

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
1,800 ft1,900 ft2,000 ft WAUBAY1,830 ftWebster1,870 ftLow point1,800 ftHigh point of the line2,030 ft ← W · WebsterSummit · E →

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.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Waubay’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Webster, 11 mi west

Waubay 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 WAUBAY 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 Waubay 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, 11 miles west. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Waubay on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Watertown SD · 30 MI 30 miles south Fargo ND · 108 MI 108 miles north Sioux Falls SD · 127 MI 127 miles south Bloomington MN · 198 MI 198 miles east Minneapolis MN · 199 MI 199 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Waubay, South Dakota. Explore the plate
SOUTH DAKOTA · DAY

Waubay

474 people, 1,830 ft above sea level in Day County.

1,830 ftElevation
474People
1 sq miLand
Sunny 46°
SunnyDew point 25°
1

Today in Waubay

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 43° 0%
5p mostly clear night 38° 0%
8p mostly clear night 34° 0%
11p partly cloudy night 32° 0%
2a mostly clear night 31° 0%
5a mostly clear night 31° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 80%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
29
43
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
39
53
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
41
57
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
44
55
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
40
58
C
Thu10%
Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
35
48
C
Fri80%
Showers likely Showers likely
39
51
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 Waubay stands on

Waubay’s center stands about 1,830 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,790 ft to 1,900 ft, a difference of 110 ft: gently rolling country.

Waubay, west to east Waubay1,830 ftHigh point2,030 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,830 ft
Within 3 miles1,790 to 1,900 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (110 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfacePierre Shale
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old
5

Waubay’s year

Waubay 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 Waubay 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, 11 miles west. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.