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Aurora, Iowa

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Buffalo Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50607. The Survey maps it on the Lamont quadrangle. 169 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,138 feet above sea level.

Aurora within Buchanan County

On record in Aurora

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

Population over time

2 figures

Aurora fell from 185 to 169 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
2010185
2020169-16 (-9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 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

11 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Aurora between 2008 and 2015, burning about 60 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/undetermined5
Debris and open burning4
Equipment and vehicle use2

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
6 July 2012Debris and open burning5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 July 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 May 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources1284 UNION AVE LAMONT, IA 50650, IA
21 May 2015Debris and open burning5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 April 2014Debris and open burning2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
16 April 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined25 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
31 March 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources205 CONCORD ST. LAMONT, IA 50650, IA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Buchanan County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Aurora: 3 producers, 2 past producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Ward Farm PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Aurora QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Aurora QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Wards QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Buchanan County

Storms near this place

36 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Aurora in 36 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 14 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 heavy rain. The reports record 1 injury. 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
August 1995Thunderstorm WindAurora1 hurt, $20,000As the storms moved and developed further east, one became severe over Buchanan County. The storm produced high winds in town. At one house a tree fell onto the house injuring a woman. She was trying to close the window when the tree crashed onto the house. She was injured slightly as the plaster fell from the wall resulting in abrasions. Several other trees were also reported down around town.
September 2001Tornado (F2)Aurora$300,000Tornado reported by emergency manager
September 2001Tornado (F0)Aurora$100,000Tornado reported by emergency manager.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindAurora$40,00010-20 inch diameter limbs down in Stanley
June 2004Flash FloodAurora$20,000East branch of Buffalo Creek out of its banks; road washed out on 130th street
May 2001LightningAurora$20,000Lightning struck a barn and sparked a fire, which destroyed the building. No injuries occurred. Reported by newspaper.
May 2008Flash FloodAurora$10,000Heavy rains of 3 to 8 inches caused flash flooding in the vicinity of Aurora, IA during the late evening hours of May 25th.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindAurora$10,000no account filed
July 2003Heavy RainAurora$2,000Streams & ditches overflowing. Fell in 30 minutes
June 2025Thunderstorm WindAurora-Reported by automated weather equipement.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAurora-Photo of a 14 inch diameter oak tree snapped that narrowly missed falling on a house and garage. Photo relayed via social media. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindAurora-The Emergency Manager relayed a report of a measured thunderstorm wind gust of 86 MPH from the Aurora Fire Department.
June 2022HailAurora-Report was from Mping.
July 2021Tornado (EFU)Aurora-Brief touchdown in a field with no visible damage.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindAurora-A member of the general public reported a 63 MPH gust from a personal weather station.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindAurora-Several 8 to 10 inch diameter tree branches snapped off trees.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindAurora-The local coop observer reported a 30 to 40 foot tall tree was blown down into a farm field near 115th street and Reed avenue.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindAurora-The local coop observer reported a large tree was snapped in city park and second tree was down onto a Van at 103 main street.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindAurora-A trained spotter reported a machine shed roof and door damaged near Aurora.
June 2013HailAurora-In addition, thunderstorm wind speeds were estimated between 40 and 50 mph.
April 2013HailAurora-Quarter sized hail fell about 5 miles southwest of Aurora, IA near the intersection of 155th St. and Olympic Ave. at 1037 am CDT April 29. The hail covered the ground.
April 2013HailAurora-Ping pong ball sized hail fell about 5 miles south of Aurora, IA around 1045 am CDT April 29. Most of the hail was pea sized.
April 2013HailAurora-Quarter sized hail fell in and about 1 mile south of Aurora, IA at 1048 am CDT April 29.
May 2011HailAurora-Quarter sized hail fell about 2 miles southwest of Aurora, IA around 524 pm CDT May 24.
April 2010HailAurora-Quarter sized hail fell in Aurora, IA at 649 pm April 6.
April 2010HailAurora-Golf ball sized hail fell just west of Aurora, IA at 505 pm April 6.
July 2006Heavy RainAurora-estimated 2 inches of rain in 45 minutes; 4 inches of standing water in a parking lot.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindAurora-Farm buildings damaged.
May 2001Tornado (F0)Aurora-A tornado touched down briefly at the west edge of Aurora. No damage was reported.
May 2001HailAurora-Quarter sized hail reported by emergency management.
May 2010HailAurora-no account filed
July 2009HailAurora-no account filed
June 2007HailAurora-no account filed
April 2003HailAurora-no account filed
December 2002Funnel CloudAurora-no account filed
May 1998HailAurora-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Buchanan 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
Stanley4.8 miles12
Lamont4.8 miles13
Hazleton9.1 miles12
Bryantsburg9.9 miles12
Winthrop10.0 miles11
Doris10.6 miles11
Gatesville13.4 miles11
Independence13.4 miles11

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 AuroraAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1914854The 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 454285. 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.