BlockBefore

Aurelia, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Pitcher Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51005. The Survey maps it on the Aurelia quadrangle. 968 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,391 feet above sea level.

Aurelia within Cherokee County

Population over time

2 figures

Aurelia fell from 1,036 to 968 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
20101,036
2020968-68 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

14 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Aurelia between 2011 and 2020, burning about 31 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/undetermined4
Equipment and vehicle use4
Debris and open burning3
Smoking3

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
29 September 2020Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources200-580TH ST., IA
18 September 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
5 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
26 July 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 May 2013Smoking1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 April 2015Smoking1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 March 2014Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cherokee County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Aurelia: 7 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Aurelia PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bugh PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Cherokee County

Storms near this place

33 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Aurelia in 33 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 18 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 tornado. 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
December 2021Tornado (EF1)Aurelia$1,000,000The tornado spun up 7 miles south-southwest of Aurelia just west of the intersection of T Avenue and 610th Street. The tornado moved either northeast or north-northeast along its track and exited Cherokee County at 1707CST near the intersection of 510th Street and 10th Avenue. The tornado continued northeast and lifted one mile south of the Buena Vista County Conservation Park at 1712CST. ||Shortly after touchdown, the tornado partially collapsed the roof on a hog confinement which killed 13 hogs. Debris from this building was strewn for one to two miles to the northeast. On a northeastward track, another animal confinement farm was struck by the tornado after a couple minutes which resulted in loss of several roof panels on multiple buildings. At this point the tornado shifted path toward more of a north-northeast direction and moved into Aurelia. A drying unit was removed from the top of a grain elevator on the south edge of town. Most of the damage throughout the eastern half of Aurelia was snapped trees, which caused collateral damage to numerous roofs and windows along the path. The tornado moved through the golf course snapping and uprooting numerous trees. The tornado continued with a shift to a more northeast track, and destroyed a barn and three outbuildings along 535th Street northeast of Aurelia. Additional damage occurred to a machine shed and large trees along the Cherokee and Buena Vista County line. The tornado was rated EF1 in both Cherokee and Buena Vista Counties. The average path width was 150 yards in Cherokee County and the maximum estimated wind speed was 110 mph. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
May 2013Flash FloodAurelia$500,000Widespread heavy rainfall of up to 9 inches caused flash flooding which was also widespread, affecting especially the eastern half of the county. There was significant flooding of numerous streets and homes, with many homes and businesses in the city of Cherokee affected by basement or lower level flooding. Some basements were nearly full of water. In rural areas, numerous roads, fields, and homes were flooded.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindAurelia$30,000Thunderstorm winds resulted in failure of garage doors, with removal of walls and roof of half the building. Debris was thrown north and northwest into several homes. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindAurelia$30,000Thunderstorm winds blew in the south facing doors of a metal shed, which caused complete removal of the roof. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindAurelia$20,000A half-dozen power poles were snapped off at the ground by thunderstorm winds. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindAurelia-Multiple large tree branches were downed by thunderstorm winds in Aurelia.
May 2024HailAurelia-Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
July 2023HailAurelia-Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindAurelia-Three empty railcars were blown over by thunderstorm winds.
December 2021Tornado (EFU)Aurelia-This is the second segment of a tornado which developed 2 miles north-northwest of Galva at 1658CST, and entered Cherokee County 4 miles north of Galva just east of Marshal Avenue at 1700CST. The tornado tracked over open farmland in extreme southeast Cherokee County with no damage indicators, before it entered Buena Vista County at 1701CST, where the tornado lifted one mile southwest of Alta at 1706CST. The tornado was rated EF0 in Ida County, EFU in Cherokee County, and EF1 in Buena Vista County. The average path width in Cherokee County was estimated at 50 yards.
May 2018HailAurelia-Report via social media with picture. Time estimated from radar.
May 2018HailAurelia-Relayed public report with picture. Time estimated from radar.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindAurelia-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including branches up to 10 inches in diameter blown down.
May 2013Flash FloodAurelia-Heavy rain caused significant flooding of several roads.
May 2012HailAurelia-Hail up to golf ball size fell for several minutes. An unknown amount of damage was done to vehicles.
May 2007Flash FloodAurelia-Heavy rain caused flash flooding of county roads, ditches and other low areas, and fields.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindAurelia-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown over. The winds also blew an exterior steel door off a nursing home.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindAurelia-Thunderstorm winds caused property damage. The amount of damage was not known.
April 2025HailAurelia-no account filed
September 2019HailAurelia-no account filed
June 2010HailAurelia-no account filed
July 2006HailAurelia-no account filed
September 2005HailAurelia-no account filed
April 2004HailAurelia-no account filed
April 2004Thunderstorm WindAurelia-no account filed
May 2004HailAurelia-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindAurelia-no account filed
July 2003HailAurelia-no account filed
May 2002HailAurelia-no account filed
May 2002HailAurelia-no account filed
May 2002HailAurelia-no account filed
October 2001HailAurelia-no account filed
April 1999HailAurelia-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cherokee 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
Onawa Junction6.5 miles9
Cherokee6.6 miles9
Larrabee11.7 miles9
Meriden11.9 miles9
Quimby12.3 miles9
Mary Hill13.4 miles9
Cleghorn16.2 miles9
Washta17.6 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 AureliaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1947771The 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 454283. 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.