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Oppelo, Arkansas

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Bentley Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72110. The Survey maps it on the Perryville quadrangle. 737 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 338 feet above sea level.

Oppelo within Conway County

Population over time

2 figures

Oppelo fell from 781 to 737 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010781
2020737-44 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 18 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

53 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 53 fires within 5 miles of Oppelo between 1998 and 2020, burning about 391 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning18
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Railroad operations and maintenance12
Equipment and vehicle use5
Arson/incendiarism5
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 1998Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 1998Debris and open burning120 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
22 September 2015Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 2004Debris and open burning4.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
14 September 2000Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
8 August 2007Debris and open burning3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
23 August 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
22 August 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined40 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Conway County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Oppelo: 12 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
UnkClayPast Producer
UnkStonePast Producer
UnkStonePast Producer
Copperas Gap Sandstone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Parks QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Sardis QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Conway County QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Conway County

Storms near this place

33 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oppelo in 33 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 16 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 2 tornado, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2010Thunderstorm WindOppelo$50,000Two irrigation pivots were overturned between Oppelo and the Arkansas River.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOppelo$50,000Trees and limbs were down. Some homes were damaged in the Oppelo area.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindOppelo$30,000Approximately 13 trees were lost near Timberlake Reservoir...with numerous large limbs blown great distances. A pool house sustained significant damage from felled trees.
May 2021Tornado (EF0)Oppelo$25,000This brief tornado occurred immediately east of Hwy 9 south-southeast of the town of Oppelo, AR on the evening of May 18, 2021. A small number of farm outbuildings were damaged and a hardwood tree was blown down. Also some tree limbs were snapped. The tornado dissipated very quickly.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindOppelo$20,000A trained spotter reported numerous trees and power lines blown down. Several buildings also sustained minor roof damage.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindOppelo$20,000Numerous trees were blown down on Arkansas 9.
May 2010HailOppelo$10,000Hail cracked the windshield of a sheriff deputy's car.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindOppelo$5,000Trees were blown down.
November 1993Thunderstorm WindOppelo$5,000Some trees were blown down.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindOppelo-An estimated wind gust of 60 mph occurred in the community of Oppelo.
January 2024HailOppelo-Quarter sized hail fell in the community of Oppelo, AR.
June 2023HailOppelo-Quarter sized hail fell in Oppelo. Additionally, winds were estimated to be 50 mph.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindOppelo-Winds were estimated at 70 mph just south of Oppelo, which blew down numerous trees.
April 2022HailOppelo-Quarter sized hail was noted near Oppelo.
October 2021HailOppelo-This was a social media report showing a picture of half dollar sized hail southwest of Oppelo between Arena Road and the Perry and Conway County line.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindOppelo-A tree was blown down and blocking all lanes of Hwy 9.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindOppelo-A thunderstorm wind gust of greater than 60 mph occurred near Timber Lake Reservoir.
February 2018Flash FloodOppelo-Amateur Radio operator reported flood near the Timberlake reservoir.
February 2018FloodOppelo-There was flooding at Timber Lake Reservoir near the Conway and Perry County line.
April 2018Tornado (EF0)Oppelo-Several trees were snapped or uprooted near Timberlake Reservoir, mainly confined to the Haynes Lane area.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindOppelo-Trees were blown down near Oppelo.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindOppelo-A trained spotter estimated winds gusts of at least 60 mph.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindOppelo-Numerous trees were down in Oppelo.
March 2011HailOppelo-Hail up to penny size fell for one and a half minutes near the Conway/Perry County line.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindOppelo-Law enforcement estimated winds at 70 mph.
August 2009Heavy RainOppelo-A measurement of 4.20 inches of rain was taken south-southwest of Oppelo.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindOppelo-Several trees were blown down.
March 2018HailOppelo-no account filed
March 2017HailOppelo-no account filed
June 2014HailOppelo-no account filed
June 2012HailOppelo-no account filed
April 2007HailOppelo-no account filed
March 1996HailOppelo-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Conway County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Riverview1.3 miles18
Rehms Corner1.9 miles18
Sandtown (historical)3.1 miles17
Lewisburg3.3 miles17
Deerwood3.4 miles17
Morrilton3.7 miles17
Country Estates4.6 miles18
Spring Meadows4.6 miles18

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on OppeloAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79390The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 53063. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.