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Box Elder, South Dakota

City in Pennington County, South Dakota

Air quality

The air at Box Elder

Index 48, good, led by coarse particles. Read at 11 PM from its reporting area, Rapid City (SD), 11 miles off.

48Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)31Good10.5 mi
  • Ozone32Good34 ppb12.3 mi
  • Coarse particles (PM10)48Good10.5 mi

The days ahead

Yesterday measured 16, good.

Smoke, the next 43 hours

No smoke near the ground through Sat 6 PM.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at Box Elder

None in the last 3 days, to Thu 11 PM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.00in
Last 3 days
0.00in

Visibility

How far you can see at Box Elder, the next 43 hours

Visibility stays 10 miles or more through Sat 6 PM.

FriSat

On the radar over Box Elder, South DakotaReflectivityStorm topsRain rateRain, last 24 hoursForecast temperatureForecast rain totalEvery picture

What is measuring near here

The 6 instruments nearest Box Elder, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.5 miles away.

measured now4 instruments

measured daily2 instruments

Box Elder 0.5 NESD-PN-101

In a volunteer observer's own ground/0.5 mi away/3,082 ft/66 ft below here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Rank-

Wfo Rapid CityUNRS2

At a cooperative observer's station/8.0 mi away/3,356 ft/208 ft above here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

Rank727of 806

Station report

The weather at Ellsworth AFB, drawn

The nearest airport reporting now, 1.8 mi from Box Elder, South Dakota. From its report of Oct 15, 2026, 11:08 PM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.

The sky

Overcast at 6,000 ft; the ceiling is 6,000 ft; visibility 10 mi or more.

Section of the sky over Ellsworth AFB, height above the station to scale: overcast cloud with its base at 6,000 feet, the ceiling at 6,000 feet, and visibility of 10 mi or more.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT RCAFIG. A THE SKY OVER ELLSWORTH AFBSECTION, HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALE, EACH LAYER AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS BASE AS REPORTED; COVER IN EIGHTHS OF THE SKY; TOPS NOT MEASUREDFT ABOVE THE STATION02,5005,0007,50010,000ETAGESLOWMIDDLETHE STATIONTHE CEILOMETER READS TO 12,000 FT, ABOVE THIS SHEETOVC 6,000 FTOVERCAST, 8 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYCEILING 6,000 FTVISIBILITY, MILES: 10 MI OR MORE0510TITLEEllsworth AFB, the skySTATION REPORT · ASOS RCATYPESECTIONSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 1 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-RCA-1DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-SKY-001, FB-SKY-017, FB-SKY-016, FB-SKY-018

The air

42.8 F with a dew point of 24.8 F, 49 per cent relative humidity. Air lifted from the station would cool to its dew point, where cloud forms, about 4,100 ft up; the lowest cloud reported is at 6,000 ft.

Chart of the air at Ellsworth AFB: temperature 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit and dew point 24.8, 49 per cent relative humidity; air lifted from the station cools along the dry rate and meets its dew point about 4,100 feet above the station, against the lowest cloud reported at 6,000 feet; height to scale.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT RCAFIG. B THE AIR AT ELLSWORTH AFBTHE REPORTED TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT, AND AIR LIFTED FROM THE STATION WITHOUT MIXING UNTIL IT SATURATES; HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALEFT ABOVE THE STATION01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0007,0008,00010 F20 F30 F40 F50 FSATURATES 4,100 FT ABOVE THE STATION, AT 21.1 FLOWEST CLOUD REPORTED, OVC 6,000 FTTEMPERATURE 42.8 FDEW POINT 24.8 FSPREAD 18.0 FRELATIVE HUMIDITY 49 PER CENTTHE AIR COOLS ABOUT 5.4 F EACH 1,000 FT IT RISES, AND ITS DEW POINT ABOUT 1 FSOLID: THE LIFTED AIR'S TEMPERATURE; DASHED: ITS DEW POINTTITLEEllsworth AFB, the airSTATION REPORT · ASOS RCATYPECHARTSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 2 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-RCA-2DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-WAT-002, FB-ENG-011, FB-ENG-005

The wind

From the north northwest (330 degrees) at 30 mph, gusting 38 mph: force 6, a strong breeze on the Beaufort scale. The strongest gust today was 55 mph.

Plan of the wind at Ellsworth AFB, north up: blowing from 330 degrees, the north northwest, at 30 miles an hour, gusting 38; beside it the Beaufort scale from calm to hurricane force, force 6, strong breeze, marked.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT RCAFIG. C THE WIND AT ELLSWORTH AFBPLAN, NORTH UP: THE WIND AS REPORTED, AND WHERE IT SITS ON THE BEAUFORT SCALENESWTHE STATIONFROM 330°BEAUFORT FORCELEAST WIND, MPH0CALM01LIGHT AIR12LIGHT BREEZE43GENTLE BREEZE84MODERATE BREEZE135FRESH BREEZE196STRONG BREEZE25NOW, 30 MPH7NEAR GALE32GUST, 38 MPH8GALE399STRONG GALE4710STORM5511VIOLENT STORM6412HURRICANE FORCE73TITLEEllsworth AFB, the windSTATION REPORT · ASOS RCATYPEPLAN north upSCALENOT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 3 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-RCA-3DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-EVT-150, FB-ENG-008, FB-INS-002

The full report of Ellsworth AFB, in 6 sheets, each beside the Field Book plates that explain it

0in

Snow on the ground

Measured at Wfo Rapid City (UNRS2), 8.0 miles from here, read 15 Oct, 06:00. measured daily

Elsewhere in South Dakota

24 places, each with its own forecast and its own instruments.

Near Box Elder

The nearest places, each with its own forecast and the instruments nearest it.

Near Box Elder

River and lake gauges