Fort Thompson, South Dakota — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, aviation weather, radar and satellite imagery, soil and crop conditions for Fort Thompson, Buffalo County.
Flight conditions near Fort Thompson. Data source: locating…
Soil conditions, frost risk and crop weather for Fort Thompson.
Fort Thompson sprawls across the wide, flat expanse where the Missouri River, a ribbon of muddy power, shapes the land. It lies 107.2 miles south-south-west of Aberdeen, SD (from Aberdeen, SD: bearing 206°T), and is situated 7.2 miles east of Lower Brule. The sky here is an immense dome, a canvas for sunsets that bleed hues of apricot and bruised violet across the horizon, painting the prairie grass in shades of burnished gold. Low-slung buildings, weathered by relentless sun and wind, huddle together as if for warmth against the vastness, their edges softened by the dust that settles like a fine, pervasive whisper. The air itself carries a dry, clean scent, a mixture of sun-baked earth and the distant, subtle perfume of ripening crops. Along the riverbanks, cottonwood trees stand sentinel, their leaves a vibrant, almost electric green against the muted tones of the surrounding landscape. The history of Fort Thompson is deeply entwined with the river that defines it, a place that has seen migrations and transformations over centuries. Originally a military post, its strategic importance faded, leaving behind a quiet endurance that now characterizes the local economy. Agriculture remains a steadfast pillar, the land yielding its bounty under the patient gaze of its cultivators, while the river itself offers sustenance and a gentle pulse through fishing and the occasional boat that glides its surface. There's a sense of continuity here, a quiet understanding passed down through generations, where the rhythm of the seasons dictates the pace of life, and the most notable events are often the arrival of the harvest moon or the first frost that silvers the dew-kissed fields.
Live animated radar for Fort Thompson and surroundings — RainViewer.
NOAA GOES-16 GEOCOLOR — live animated loop updated every 10 minutes. Shows cloud cover, storm systems and weather patterns across the continental US.
Source: NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East · Public domain · Auto-updates on page reload
| Location | Fort Thompson, Buffalo County, South Dakota |
| Coordinates | 44.068601°N, 99.437885°W |
| Timezone | Central Time (America/Chicago) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 57339 |
| Area Code | 605 |
| Page generated | July 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Fort Thompson, South Dakota, including current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, 7-day outlook, NWS extended text forecast, real-time aviation weather (live METAR and TAF reports from the nearest reporting airport, with a modeled estimate shown when no station is in range), precipitation radar and NOAA GOES-16 satellite imagery. Additional sections may include tide predictions, wave height, wave direction and sea-surface temperature, a barometric pressure trend, and a solunar-based fishing forecast with a fishing-conditions rating for coastal localities, and soil temperature, crop weather and live USGS river gauge data for agricultural areas near a monitored waterway. All data updates automatically on every page visit.
Location data for Fort Thompson includes coordinates 44.068601°N, 99.437885°W, situated in Buffalo County. ZIP code 57339. Telephone area code: 605. Timezone: Central Time (America/Chicago).
Weather data is sourced from the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and the open-source Open-Meteo API. Aviation data is sourced from aviationweather.gov (NOAA), with a modeled estimate used where no nearby reporting station is available. River and stream data is sourced from the USGS National Water Information System. Tide predictions are sourced from NOAA CO-OPS; marine and solunar data are modeled from Open-Meteo and public sunrise/moon calculations and should be treated as a general guide alongside on-the-water conditions. Radar is provided by RainViewer. Satellite imagery is sourced from NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East and is public domain.