BlockBefore

Alexander, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Scott Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50420. The Survey maps it on the Alexander quadrangle. 164 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,270 feet above sea level.

Alexander within Franklin County

Population over time

2 figures

Alexander fell from 175 to 164 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
2010175
2020164-11 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 9 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

2 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Alexander between 2006 and 2009, burning about 10 acres in total. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

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
19 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 October 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this place

39 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alexander in 39 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 14 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 funnel cloud, 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2014Flash FloodAlexander$25,000,000Numerous dirt roads were washed out and were under water in various portions of Franklin county.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindAlexander$400,000Swath of wind damage that began in far NE Wright County broadened and strengthened as it entered NW Franklin County. An EF1 tornado was embedded within this wind damage. Wind gusts of 70-80 mph were found in a 1 to 2 mile wide and 4 to 5 mile long corridor, with locally higher gusts over 100 mph. One house lost half of its roof and multiple outbuildings were destroyed. One hog confinement building disintegrated--its remnants scattered for over 2 miles to the south. Damage point is at the house that lost its roof. Hog building was 1.5 miles SE of this point.
June 2013Tornado (EF2)Alexander$300,000The tornado heavily damaged several farms while the rear flank downdraft winds produced an even wider damage path to the south of the tornado.
September 2018FloodAlexander$100,000Emergency manager reported several road closures due to water over the roadways.
September 2018FloodAlexander$50,000Law enforcement reported flooding in portions of the county with some roads impassible. Many roads have standing water and larger creeks and streams are rising out of their banks.
September 2018Flash FloodAlexander$50,000Emergency manager reported several road closures due to water over the roadways.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindAlexander$50,000Emergency manager reported a large machine shed partially destroyed, partial roof damage, a hog building with door damage and tin ripped up, and grain storage bins with damage to 2 doors. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar.
June 2014Tornado (EF1)Alexander$25,000This tornado moved in from Wright county and produce its most intense damage as it entered the county when it hit a farmstead. It then continued to the southeast remaining mostly in open farm fields.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindAlexander$20,000Public reported portion of roof removed from a farm building. Time estimated from radar.
September 2018Flash FloodAlexander$20,000Franklin County Sheriff's Office reported a number of roads across the county with water running over them, including a few impassable at the time of the call.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindAlexander$20,000KLMJ Radio in Hampton reported damage to a machine shed, greenhouse, and trees between Rowan and Latimer along Highway 3. Time estimated by radar.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindAlexander$15,000Three to 4 foot diameter Cottonwood trees were snapped. Roof damage was reported to a house, along with damage to the garage door.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindAlexander$10,000Corn bins were blown onto the road.
May 2008HailAlexander$10,000no account filed
June 1997HailAlexander$10,000no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindAlexander$5,000High winds caused severe crop damage north of a line from Alexander to Chapin to Sheffield.
July 2013HailAlexander$5,000no account filed
May 1995HailAlexander$5,000no account filed
July 1995HailAlexander$5,000no account filed
April 2009HailAlexander$3,000Numerous reports of quarter size hail.
May 2003HailAlexander$3,000no account filed
June 2001HailAlexander$3,000no account filed
June 2009Thunderstorm WindAlexander$2,000Shingles were torn off a new roof.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindAlexander$2,000Trees were reported snapped at the base.
June 2001HailAlexander$2,000no account filed
April 2009HailAlexander$1,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindAlexander$1,000no account filed
June 1997HailAlexander$1,000no account filed
May 2025Funnel CloudAlexander-Pictures of several small funnel clouds between 12:45 and 1:05 PM via social media. None have extended very far below the cloud base.
July 2025Funnel CloudAlexander-Funnel cloud submitted via social media.
December 2021Tornado (EFU)Alexander-This tornado continued into Franklin County from Wright County. The tornado continued on a northeast track through the far northwest corner of Franklin County with no reports of damage, hence the EFU rating. This tornado moved into Cerro Gordo County about a mile east of Meservey.
May 2017HailAlexander-Emergency manager reported quarter sized hail.
May 2017HailAlexander-Trained spotter reported half dollar sized hail. This is a delayed report.
August 2016Heavy RainAlexander-Public reported heavy rainfall of 3.80 inches storm total so far.
August 2016Heavy RainAlexander-Public reported storm total heavy rainfall of 3.2 inches. Ending time radar estimated.
June 2013Funnel CloudAlexander-Trained spotter reported funnel cloud reached nearly half way to the ground before dissipating.
July 2010Funnel CloudAlexander-Funnel cloud was reported about half way to the ground.
June 2010FloodAlexander-no account filed
June 1997HailAlexander-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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
Latimer6.4 miles9
Coulter7.4 miles9
Washington11.6 miles9
Chapin13.6 miles9
Reeve14.7 miles9
Popejoy14.9 miles9
Sheffield15.1 miles9
Hampton15.2 miles9

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 AlexanderAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1914567The 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 454123. 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.