Thomas, South Dakota
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Oxford Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57241. The Survey maps it on the Pelican Lake quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 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.
- 1953 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Pelican Lake quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Watertown quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
11 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Thomas between 2007 and 2016, burning about 906 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 June 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | SIMONTON FIRE |
| 4 May 2008 | Debris and open burning | 17 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 26 May 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | STORMO GRASS FIRE |
| 9 April 2007 | Debris and open burning | 300 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 9 April 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 21 April 2009 | Debris and open burning | 19 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 30 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 40 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | LAKNESS |
| 27 March 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | TASCHNER |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Thomas: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
37 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Thomas in 37 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 16 flood, 13 hail, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2022 | Flood | Thomas | - | The Big Sioux River near Castlewood was in minor flood stage from the end of May through the evening of June 4th. It crested at 10.68 feet at 5pm on June 1st. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thomas | - | Estimated sixty mph winds brought some branches down. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thomas | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated. |
| September 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Thomas | - | The tornado started south of Thomas and tracked northeast across farm fields. Trees and outdoor lawn items were damaged after the tornado crossed Highway 22 and before crossing Clear Lake. The tornado moved off the lake, crossed a cornfield and proceeded to damage several metal beams on a quonset barn. Finally, several outbuildings and a silo were damaged on a farm before additional trees were uprooted in a shelter belt. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thomas | - | Eighty mph winds downed 16 to 20 power poles southeast of Thomas. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Thomas | - | The Big Sioux River near Castlewood went slightly above the 11 foot flood stage from early to mid April before retreating to back below flood stage. Only minor flooding of crop and agricultural land occurred. |
| March 2011 | Flood | Thomas | - | The Big Sioux River went above and back below flood stage at the end of March. The river rose above flood stage of 11 feet to 12.87 feet at the gaging site at Castlewood. Minor flooding of agricultural land along with a few roads occurred. |
| September 2010 | Flash Flood | Thomas | - | Heavy rain caused flooding on the road south of Thomas. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thomas | - | Sixty mph winds brought down several large tree branches. |
| April 2007 | Flash Flood | Thomas | - | Heavy rains caused the flash flooding of several township roads near Thomas. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thomas | - | Winds to 70 mph brought several tree branches down in Thomas. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| March 2022 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| October 2021 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| March 2020 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| April 2020 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| May 2019 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| March 2019 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| April 2019 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| September 2019 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| March 2018 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| April 2018 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| March 2014 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| March 2010 | Flood | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Thomas | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Thomas | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kones Corner | 5.8 miles | 8 | |
| Hayti | 7.2 miles | 8 | |
| Hazel | 9.0 miles | 8 | |
| Castlewood | 9.9 miles | 8 | |
| Lake Norden | 12.4 miles | 8 | |
| Alsville | 12.8 miles | 8 | |
| Stone Bridge | 13.5 miles | 8 | |
| Claremont Colony | 14.0 miles | 9 |
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 Thomas | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q23709432 | 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 1258528. 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.



