BlockBefore

Avon, Iowa

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Allen Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50047. It stands on Magnolia Creek. The Survey maps it on the Des Moines SE quadrangle.

Avon within Polk County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 16 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

1 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Avon in 2009, burning about 5 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/undetermined1

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
16 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Avon: 7 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Zinc. 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
OccurrenceZincPast ProducerSphalerite
Carlisle Brick and Tile Co. PitClayPast Producer
Goodwin Brick and Tile Co. Clay PitClayPast Producer
Avon PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Owens Farm PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pickle Farm PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Se 22nd St. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
White Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

9 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Avon in 9 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 2 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 heavy rain, 2 thunderstorm wind. 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
March 2022Tornado (EF2)Avon$75,000,000This tornado passed from Warren county into Polk county near the intersection of Highway 69 and County Line Road. The tornado crossed E Pine Avenue removing the roof of a house and then clipped the north edge of Avon producing EF2 damage to a couple of houses. The tornado then crossed the Des Moines River and impacted the Woodland Hills neighborhood damaging muliple structures. The damage continued to the northeast into less inhabited areas of eastern Polk county, however the tornado remained strong with EF2 damage at several locations along its path. The tornado crossed University Avenue near its intersection with NE 112th Street and then exited the county into Jasper county.
August 2010Flash FloodAvon$75,000One house had basement walls collapse due to heavy rain in the Avon Lakes area.
September 2019Thunderstorm WindAvon$15,000Des Moines Public Safety reported a tree fell on a power line, causing power flashes in south Des Moines.
April 2008HailAvon$1,000Public report received through e-spotter.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAvon$700Mature tree snapped in Ewing Park. Time estimated from radar.
July 2023Heavy RainAvon-Event total of 3.00 inches.
May 2018HailAvon-Public reported quarter sized hail via the mPING application.
July 2016Flash FloodAvon-Law Enforcement reported closure of SE 52nd St/155th Ave between Highway 5 and SE 72nd Ave.
August 2014Heavy RainAvon-Rainfall of 1.75 inches in the past 24 hours.

Every storm recorded in Polk 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
Levey1.2 miles16
Avon Lake1.3 miles16
Hastie3.0 miles11
East Des Moines3.3 miles16
Woodland Hills3.7 miles11
Pleasant Hill3.8 miles16
Carbondale3.8 miles16
South Ridge Estates4.3 miles16

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 AvonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4829165The 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 464453. 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.