Leola, South Dakota
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Leola City. It lies in ZIP code area 57456. The Survey maps it on the Leola quadrangle. 434 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,591 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Leola
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 2 records
McPherson County Courthouselisted 1986- Amos Hoffman Houselisted 1986
Population over time
2 figuresLeola fell from 457 to 434 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 457 | |
| 2020 | 434 | -23 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1899 USGS Ellendale quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Aberdeen quadrangle1:250000
- 1970 USGS Leola quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Elm River quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
5 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Leola between 2015 and 2017, burning about 6 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None was 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 July 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | GERALD RORT BALE |
| 8 June 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | FAUTH |
| 27 June 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | HWY 10 |
| 14 May 2017 | Natural | 2.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | HOWARD FIRE |
| 16 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | DUMP GROUND |
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Leola: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glaesman Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 85 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Leola in 85 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 57 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 2 flash flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | $5,000 | Thunderstorm Winds uprooted some trees. |
| August 1993 | Hail | Leola | $500 | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Leola | - | The Leola fire department observed a brief touchdown in an open field. No damage was observed. |
| May 2024 | Funnel Cloud | Leola | - | The public relayed through Facebook the presence of a funnel cloud near the town of Leola. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | The wind gust was measured by a personal weather station. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Leola | - | The report of severe hail came from mPING. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | A personal weather station recorded a wind gust of 79 mph. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | A machine shed was destroyed, a stave silo partially destroyed, farm equipment was displaced, machine shed doors pushed in, multiple grain bins dented and widespread tree damage occurred. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Wind blew in a shop/shed door and blew off the shop/shed's tin roof. It also blew a grain bin off its base, and snapped a pole in half. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Estimated 80 mph winds caused damage along the south side of Leola including an unroofed barn, tipped grain bins, downed tree branches, tipped camper, and destroyed pole barn. Debris was sent flying into the home of a local resident with no injuries reported. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Estimated eighty mph wind downed a tree and collapsed a garage. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | Severe winds combined with quarter size hail broke twelve windows out of the county courthouse. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | Large hail broke a house window. |
| July 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Leola | - | A second brief tornado occurred northwest of Leola in an open field. |
| July 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Leola | - | A small rope tornado touched down briefly in an open field. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated by the public. |
| May 2010 | Flash Flood | Leola | - | Heavy rain of over two inches fell in Leola within one hour causing street flooding throughout town. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Seventy mph winds rolled several hay bales and also downed many large tree branches. |
| June 2006 | Flash Flood | Leola | - | Heavy rains of 3 to 5 inches flooded several roads along with many ditches and fields. |
| August 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Leola | - | A tornado touched down briefly in an open field causing no damage. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Leola | - | Golfball to tennis ball size hail broke many windows out of several buildings along with severely damaging the siding on the house. Also, the roofs were damaged with holes in the roof of the barn. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Sixty mph winds brought down some large tree branches. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | High winds brought some tree branches down and also blew over and damaged a playhouse and grain auger. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Sixty mph winds brought many tree branches down in Leola. |
| July 1999 | Tornado (F0) | Leola | - | A tornado occurred southwest of Leola and damaged every building on a farm. The garage walls collapsed and several pieces of farm equipment were flipped over. Nearly all of the windows were broken in the house. The tornado tipped over the propane tank, central air unit and the satellite dish. Some debris created some holes in the roof and sides of the house. Approximately 50 bales of hay were torn apart. A car was also extensively damaged. Path length and width were estimated. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | Winds gusting to around 70 mph downed several trees in Leola along with many large tree branches. The high winds also snapped a wooden street sign off. |
| July 2022 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| April 2020 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leola | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Leola | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grassland Colony | 8.8 miles | 8 | |
| Long Lake Colony | 10.3 miles | 8 | |
| Wetonka | 11.4 miles | 8 | |
| Spring Creek Colony | 13.3 miles | 8 | |
| Long Lake | 16.8 miles | 7 | |
| Hillsview | 33.0 miles | 7 | |
| Eureka | 36.1 miles | 7 | |
| Greenway | 42.8 miles | 7 |
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 Leola | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q582933 | The 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 1256095. 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.




