Opal, South Dakota
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the North Meade unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57758. The Survey maps it on the Opal East quadrangle.
On record in Opal
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 1 record
- Royal Center Schoollisted 2023
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 7 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.
- 1953 USGS Rapid City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Rapid City quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Opal East quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Camp Creek quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
13 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Opal between 2001 and 2007, burning about 161 acres in total. 9 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 9 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2001 | Natural | 5.0 acres | Opal Volunteer Fire Department | TOM SMITH |
| 9 July 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department | ELK ROAD FIRE |
| 9 July 2002 | Natural | 76 acres | Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department | 136 FIRE |
| 30 July 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 3 July 2002 | Other causes | 1.0 acres | Enning Volunteer Fire Department | JOHNSTON |
| 26 July 2002 | Natural | under an acre | Opal Volunteer Fire Department | WALTER FEES HAY |
| 23 July 2002 | Natural | under an acre | Opal Volunteer Fire Department | REEVE HAY STACK |
| 12 July 2006 | Natural | 2.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Opal in 60 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 33 hail, 25 thunderstorm wind, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2013 | Flash Flood | Opal | $10,000 | Two to three inches of rain fell in less than two hours, causing small streams to overflow their banks and overwhelming culverts. Water was reported over portions of Old Marcus Road and fences were destroyed. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | $2,000 | The combination of large hail and strong wind gusts caused minor damage. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Pea sized hail fell with the storm. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts were estimated near 70 mph. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | The strong winds downed several trees. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| August 2017 | Hail | Opal | - | The ground was covered with hail. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts were estimated around 70 mph. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Wind gusts estimated at 60 mph. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | None. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | None. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | Three to four inch tree branches were blown down. |
| June 2000 | Hail | Opal | - | 3 Windows broken |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| April 2008 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Opal | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Flash Flood | Opal | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fox Ridge | 8.1 miles | 6 | |
| Avance (historical) | 10.9 miles | 7 | |
| Maurine | 11.8 miles | 7 | |
| Redowl | 14.4 miles | 7 | |
| Stoneville | 15.4 miles | 7 | |
| Cedar Canyon | 15.6 miles | 8 | |
| Marcus | 18.7 miles | 7 | |
| White Owl | 20.7 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 Opal | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q23709407 | 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 1256899. 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.
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.



