Williston North Dakota Webcam – A Bakken Boomtown

The Williston North Dakota Webcam looks out from a high vantage point on the west side of the city, northeast along Dakota Parkway, the stretch of US 2 that curves through this oil town in the far northwest of the state. Houses and a long, low-roofed building fill the foreground. The divided parkway sweeps in from the lower right and bends away toward the middle of the frame, and the flat roofs of north Williston spread out beyond it under a sky that takes up much of the picture. Traffic moves along the parkway through the day, the trees beside it turn yellow and orange in October, and in winter the same rooftops can sit under fresh snow. KX News runs the camera as one of its KX Cams.

About Williston, North Dakota

Williston is the county seat of Williams County. It stands at 584 meters (1,916 feet) just north of the Missouri River, near the point where the Yellowstone River joins it and at the upper end of Lake Sakakawea, and both US 2 and US 85 run through town. The city was founded in 1887 and takes its name from Daniel Willis James, a merchant and capitalist, who was honored by his friend, the railroad magnate James J. Hill.

The modern city is a product of the Bakken formation, the oil-bearing rock beneath this corner of the state. Estimates of its reserves climbed from 150 million barrels in 1995 to about four billion in 2008, and projections in March 2012 put the possible total at 24 billion barrels. New techniques such as fracking opened up rock that had been out of reach, and the city’s population nearly doubled between the last two censuses, from 14,716 in 2010 to 29,160 in 2020. Affordable housing became a pressing concern during those years.

Dakota Parkway carries US 2 through the west of the city, and the camera follows it northeast. The red Boot Barn sign left of the road marks the western wear store at 2308 11th Avenue West. Past the curve, warehouses, shops and yards stretch across the north of the city to a low, tree-dotted ridge on the skyline.

Weather and Climate in Williston

Winters are long and hard. January averages a high of minus 5.5 C (22 F) and a low of minus 17.2 C (1 F), and the city has recorded minus 46 C (minus 50 F). About 122 centimeters (48 inches) of snow falls in a typical year, so the parkway, the rooftops and the ridge on the horizon are often white for months at a time. Daylight is short as well: at the December solstice the sun is up for only about 8 hours and 20 minutes, so the camera’s winter daytime view is brief.

Summers are warm and the days are long. July averages a high of 29.2 C (85 F) and a low of 13.5 C (56 F), and the record high is 43 C (110 F). Total precipitation is modest at 384 millimeters (15.1 inches) a year. Around the June solstice the sun is up for about 16 hours, so the view stays lit well into the evening. Spring and autumn are the short seasons in between, and by mid-October the trees along the parkway have turned yellow and orange.

Things to Do Near Williston

Two of the key sites in the history of the upper Missouri lie about 35 kilometers (22 miles) southwest of the camera, near the Montana line. Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site was the most important fur trade post on the Upper Missouri River between 1828 and 1867, where the Assiniboine and six other Northern Plains tribes traded buffalo robes and smaller furs for goods. The fort standing today was rebuilt after archaeologists excavated the original, and the site holds the Fort Union Rendezvous each year. A few kilometers east, Fort Buford State Historic Site marks the army post built in 1866 near the confluence, best remembered as the place where the Hunkpapa Sioux leader Sitting Bull surrendered in 1881. A stone powder magazine and the post cemetery site survive, and the large officers’ quarters building now houses a museum. Admission also covers the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center.

Closer to the camera, the Williston Area Recreation Center handles indoor sport, and golfers have two courses in Eagle Ridge Golf Club and the Williston Municipal Golf Course. Spring Lake Park lies about 4 kilometers (2.7 miles) north of the view, and Williston State College has its campus on University Avenue on the east side of town. Williston Basin International Airport, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) northwest, serves the city.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More towns on the northern plains and along the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers:

• Langdon Webcam
• Mobridge Webcam
• Forsyth Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Williston, North Dakota located?

Williston is in the far northwest of North Dakota, the county seat of Williams County, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of the Montana state line. It sits just north of the Missouri River, near its confluence with the Yellowstone and at the upper end of Lake Sakakawea, on US 2 and US 85.

What can you see on the Williston North Dakota Webcam?

The camera looks northeast along Dakota Parkway (US 2) on the west side of the city. Houses and a long, low-roofed building sit in the foreground, the divided parkway curves away through the middle of the frame past the Boot Barn sign, and the roofs of north Williston run out to a low ridge under a wide sky.

What is the weather like in Williston?

Williston has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. January averages a high of minus 5.5 C (22 F) and a low of minus 17.2 C (1 F), while July averages 29.2 C (85 F) by day and 13.5 C (56 F) at night. The year brings about 384 millimeters (15.1 inches) of precipitation.

How much snow does Williston get in a year?

About 122 centimeters (48 inches) in a typical year. Snow can cover the parkway verges and the rooftops in the camera’s foreground for much of the winter.

Who runs the Williston North Dakota Webcam?

KX News, the North Dakota television news service, runs it as one of its KX Cams. The station’s KX Cam Williston page carries the same live stream.

Why did Williston’s population grow so fast?

Oil. Development of the Bakken formation, helped by fracking, brought a rush of workers to northwestern North Dakota, and Williston’s population nearly doubled from 14,716 in 2010 to 29,160 in 2020.

What time zone is Williston in?

Williston is on Central Time, one hour ahead of Montana just to the west, so daylight on the camera arrives late by the clock on winter mornings.

Source: KX News