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

White River

512 people, 2,140 ft above sea level in Mellette County.

2,140 ftElevation, city center
512People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Sunny 48°
Sunny now Dew point 31° · SSE 12 mph · high 45°
City of White River River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The White River 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 White River

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 5:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Bob Wiley Field Airport (KICR) · 4:53 PM
Sunny
48° Sunny Feels like 43° · high of 45° near 5 PM
WindSSE 12 mphgusts 25
Humidity51%rising to 85% by morning
Pressure30.02 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 31° · Dry41° by Monday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 30.03 in · 11 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Mellette County
NWS Rapid City and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:35 AM5:19 PM ↓
9 h 43 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
14
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
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
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11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
windy
windy
clear night
windy
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
windy
windy
windy
TEMPERATURE °F
45°
38°
55°
42°
58°
43°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
15
17
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23
22
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 41° More humid: 40° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 50° / 27°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
45° 36°
0% rain — SSE 16, gusts 31 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
58° 41°
0% rain — S 22, gusts 38 B
MON Nov. 16 Sunny Sunny
61° 42°
0% rain — SSW 19, gusts 35 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 42°
0% rain — S 20, gusts 39 C
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 35°
10% rain — WNW 12 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
50° 36°
10% rain — ESE 8 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
55° 36°
60% rain up to 1.2″ W 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 White River about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Pacific Northwest three days ago, and over the northern Rockies a day ago, about 1,040 miles back along its path. It came down from about 8,900 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the northern Rockies; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific off the Northwest. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK, ONE YEAR AGO Nov. 15, 2025

The hottest this week has been

81° on Nov. 15, 2025, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1913. Next is 80° in 1990.

80°
81°
19902025
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Wood record since 1913.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What White River stands on

White River’s center stands about 2,140 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,920 ft to 2,250 ft, a difference of 330 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Table Butte, about 2,650 ft, 13 miles south.

The section below crosses 6 rock units mapped at the surface.

White River, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
1,750 ft2,000 ft2,250 ft2,500 ft WHITE RIVER2,140 ftHigh point of the line2,540 ftLittle White Riverabout 1,930 ftWhite Riverabout 1,810 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 26×. 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

Terrace Deposits

Coarse-detrital, clay. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Pierre Shale

Shale, bentonite. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Coarse-detrital, fine-detrital. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

White River Group

Claystone, siltstone, sandstone. Age: Eocene to Oligocene, 23 to 56 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Eolian Deposits

Silt, sand. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 0.3 mi of the line.

Ogallala Group

Sandstone, limestone, siltstone. Age: Miocene to Pliocene, 2.6 to 23 million years old. About 0.3 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 White River’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in White River reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Little White, the White River, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,250 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
White River≈ 2,250 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF WHITE RIVER ≈ 2,250 mi to the Gulf of America Little White → White River → Missouri → Mississippi

Lakes on the way: Lake Francis Case and Lewis and Clark Lake.

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 White River; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

White River’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1913 · Wood, 14 mi east-southeast

White River has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 88° in July; winter nights fall to about 11° in January. A normal year brings about 50 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 20 inches of water.

34°11°38°13°48°22°58°32°69°44°79°54°88°60°86°58°78°48°62°35°48°23°37°14° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY WHITE RIVER 20.5 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average88° / 60°high / low, the warmest month
January, average34° / 11°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow20.5 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year50.3 insnowiest: March
Hottest on record116°FJuly 25, 1936
Coldest on record−36°FFebruary 6, 1936
Wettest day on record4.59 inAugust 2, 1922
Snowiest day on record18.0 inNovember 1, 1920
90° days a year34about 4 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°167and 48 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 3, to the last in spring, about May 11 (median dates)
2Lows below freezingOct. 22 to April 18; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretchMay through July: 9.3 of the year’s 20.5 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 White River normally reaches 49° and falls to 24°. The record high is 79°, in 2025; the record low −18°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.48 in, fell in 1927.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high34°38°48°58°69°79°88°86°78°62°48°37°
Normal low11°13°22°32°44°54°60°58°48°35°23°14°
Rain and melt, in0.430.641.212.423.363.502.421.941.821.550.690.51
Snow, inches7.18.49.28.60.00.00.00.00.02.16.58.4
Record high76° (1974)78° (1995)90° (1943)97° (2026)107° (1934)112° (1933)116° (1936)114° (1947)111° (1931)98° (1963)88° (1999)76° (1948)
Record low−35° (1916)−36° (1936)−29° (1998)−7° (1936)16° (1944)28° (1917)28° (1915)34° (1935)11° (1926)−7° (1925)−22° (1959)−32° (1916)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1913 at Wood, 14 miles east-southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around White River on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Rapid City SD · 128 MI 128 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of White River, South Dakota. Explore the plate
SOUTH DAKOTA · MELLETTE

White River

512 people, 2,140 ft above sea level in Mellette County.

2,140 ftElevation
512People
1 sq miLand
Sunny 48°
SunnyDew point 31°
1

Today in White River

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy night 45° 0%
8p partly cloudy night 42° 0%
11p partly cloudy night 39° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 38° 1%
5a mostly clear night 38° 1%
8a mostly sunny 38° 1%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
36
45
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
41
58
B
Mon0%
Sunny Sunny
42
61
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42
57
C
Wed10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
35
57
C
Thu10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
36
50
C
Fri60%
Showers likely Showers likely
36
55
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. 15, 2025

81°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1913.

2

What White River stands on

White River’s center stands about 2,140 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,920 ft to 2,250 ft, a difference of 330 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Table Butte, about 2,650 ft, 13 miles south.

White River, south to north White River2,140 ftLittle White Riverabout 1,930 ftWhite Riverabout 1,810 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 50×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center2,140 ft
Within 3 miles1,920 to 2,250 ft
Lie of the landRolling (330 ft of relief)
High point nearbyTable Butte, 2,650 ft, 13 mi south
5

White River’s year

White River has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 88° in July; winter nights fall to about 11° in January. A normal year brings about 50 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 20 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 20.5 in
July, average88° / 60° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average34° / 11° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow20.5 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year50.3 in · snowiest: March
Hottest on record116°F · July 25, 1936
Coldest on record−36°F · February 6, 1936
Wettest day on record4.59 in · August 2, 1922
Snowiest day on record18.0 in · November 1, 1920
90° days a year34 · about 4 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°167 · and 48 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 3, to the last in spring, about May 11 (median dates)
2Lows below freezing · Oct. 22 to April 18; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretch · May through July: 9.3 of the year’s 20.5 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 White River normally reaches 49° and falls to 24°. The record high is 79°, in 2025; the record low −18°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.48 in, fell in 1927.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1913 at Wood, 14 miles east-southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,250 mito the Gulf of AmericaLittle White → White River → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in White River reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Little White, the White River, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,250 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Lake Francis Case and Lewis and Clark Lake.

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