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Shaded-relief map of Leola, South Dakota: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
SOUTH DAKOTA · MCPHERSON COUNTY

Leola

406 people, 1,590 ft above sea level in McPherson County.

1,590 ftElevation, city center
406People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Sunny 46°
Sunny now Dew point 23° · SSE 20 mph · high 40°
City of Leola River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Leola plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Leola

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Aberdeen Regional Airport (KABR) · 3:53 PM
Sunny
46° Sunny Feels like 38° · high of 40° near 4 PM
WindSSE 20 mphgusts 30
Humidity40%rising to 78% by morning
Pressure30.09 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 23° · Dry42° by Monday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 21.09 in · 12 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for McPherson County
NWS Aberdeen and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:34 AM5:06 PM ↓
9 h 32 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
33
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
4p
7p
10p
1a
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mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
40°
32°
51°
40°
56°
43°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
15
14
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 27° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 42° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 43° / 20°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
40° 31°
0% rain — SSE 15, gusts 28 A
SUN Nov. 15 Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
53° 39°
0% rain — S 18, gusts 35 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
58° 40°
0% rain — S 14, gusts 28 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
55° 41°
0% rain — S 16, gusts 29 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
55° 36°
20% rain — WNW 9 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
46° 32°
10% rain — E 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
48° 34°
60% rain up to 1.0″ E 10 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Leola about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 1,300 miles back along its path. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific north of Hawaii. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Leola stands on

Leola’s center stands about 1,590 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,520 ft to 1,680 ft, a difference of 160 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Pierre Shale (shale, bentonite), from the Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old.

Leola, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
1,600 ft1,800 ft2,000 ft LEOLA1,590 ftLow point1,460 ftHigh point of the line2,060 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 32×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Pierre Shale

Shale, bentonite. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 24 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Leola’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Leola reaches the Gulf of America by way of Foot Creek, Moccasin Creek, the James, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,420 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Leola≈ 2,420 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF LEOLA ≈ 2,420 mi to the Gulf of America Foot Creek → Moccasin Creek → James → Missouri → Mississippi

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Leola; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Leola on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Aberdeen SD · 29 MI 29 miles southeast Bismarck ND · 116 MI 116 miles northwest Fargo ND · 128 MI 128 miles northeast Moorhead MN · 131 MI 131 miles northeast Sioux Falls SD · 186 MI 186 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Leola, South Dakota. Explore the plate
SOUTH DAKOTA · MCPHERSON

Leola

406 people, 1,590 ft above sea level in McPherson County.

1,590 ftElevation
406People
1 sq miLand
Sunny 46°
SunnyDew point 23°
1

Today in Leola

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 40° 0%
7p mostly clear night 37° 0%
10p mostly clear night 36° 0%
1a mostly clear night 35° 0%
4a mostly clear night 34° 0%
7a mostly clear night 32° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
31
40
A
Sun0%
Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
39
53
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
40
58
B
Tue0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
41
55
B
Wed20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
36
55
C
Thu10%
Partly cloudy; cooler Partly cloudy; cooler
32
46
C
Fri60%
Showers likely Showers likely
34
48
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Leola stands on

Leola’s center stands about 1,590 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,520 ft to 1,680 ft, a difference of 160 ft: gently rolling country.

Leola, south to north Leola1,590 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 62×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,590 ft
Within 3 miles1,520 to 1,680 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (160 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfacePierre Shale
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,420 mito the Gulf of AmericaFoot Creek → Moccasin Creek → James → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Leola reaches the Gulf of America by way of Foot Creek, Moccasin Creek, the James, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,420 river miles.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.