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

Wood

42 people, 2,150 ft above sea level in Mellette County.

2,150 ftElevation, city center
42People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Clear 47°
Clear now Dew point 30° · SSE 15 mph · high 45°
City of Wood River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Wood 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 Wood

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 5:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Bob Wiley Field Airport (KICR) · 5:53 PM
Clear
47° Clear Feels like 41° · high of 45° near 6 PM
WindSSE 15 mphno gusts
Humidity52%rising to 85% by morning
Pressure30.03 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 30° · Dry41° by Monday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
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 6:21 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:34 AM5:18 PM ↓
9 h 44 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% 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
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
windy
windy
windy
clear night
windy
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
mostly sunny
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
windy
windy
windy
windy
TEMPERATURE °F
45°
38°
55°
42°
58°
43°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
16
17
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 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 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 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
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″ N 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 Wood about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Pacific Northwest three days ago, and over the northern Rockies a day ago, about 1,100 miles back along its path. It came down from about 9,200 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the northern Plains; 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 Wood stands on

Wood’s center stands about 2,150 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,070 ft to 2,350 ft, a difference of 280 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Haystack Butte, about 2,720 ft, 13 miles south-southwest.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Terrace Deposits (coarse-detrital, clay), from the Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old.

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

Wood, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
2,000 ft2,250 ft2,500 ft WOOD2,150 ftHigh point of the line2,710 ftWhite Thunder Creekabout 2,090 ftLow point1,910 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 24×. 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 8 mi of the line.

Terrace Deposits

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

Arikaree Group

Siltstone, sandstone. Age: Oligocene to Miocene, 5.3 to 34 million years old. About 4 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.

Alluvium

Coarse-detrital, fine-detrital. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Ogallala Group

Sandstone, limestone, siltstone. Age: Miocene to Pliocene, 2.6 to 23 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.

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 Wood’s rain goes

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

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Wood≈ 2,250 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF WOOD ≈ 2,250 mi to the Gulf of America Oak Creek → 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 Wood; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Wood’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1913 · Wood

Wood 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 WOOD 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 Wood 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, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Wood on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Rapid City SD · 142 MI 142 miles west Sioux Falls SD · 188 MI 188 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Wood, South Dakota. Explore the plate
SOUTH DAKOTA · MELLETTE

Wood

42 people, 2,150 ft above sea level in Mellette County.

2,150 ftElevation
42People
0 sq miLand
Clear 47°
ClearDew point 30°
1

Today in Wood

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy night 45° 0%
9p partly cloudy night 41° 0%
12a partly cloudy night 38° 1%
3a partly cloudy night 38° 1%
6a mostly clear night 38° 0%
9a mostly sunny 41° 1%
Rain
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%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
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 Wood stands on

Wood’s center stands about 2,150 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,070 ft to 2,350 ft, a difference of 280 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Haystack Butte, about 2,720 ft, 13 miles south-southwest.

Wood, south to north Wood2,150 ftWhite Thunder Creekabout 2,090 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 46×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center2,150 ft
Within 3 miles2,070 to 2,350 ft
Lie of the landRolling (280 ft of relief)
High point nearbyHaystack Butte, 2,720 ft, 13 mi south-southwest
Rock at the surfaceTerrace Deposits
Its ageQuaternary, less than 2.6 million years old
5

Wood’s year

Wood 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 Wood 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, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

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

A raindrop that lands in Wood reaches the Gulf of America by way of Oak Creek, 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.