Balfour, Iowa
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Center Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51534. The Survey maps it on the Glenwood quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 12 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1954 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Glenwood quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Glenwood quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
12 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Balfour between 2009 and 2018, burning about 52 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/undetermined | 7 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2015 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 April 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | GLENWOOD FIRE DEPARTMENT |
| 17 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 April 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 March 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 March 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 63033 287TH ST., IA |
| 24 March 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 23615 KANE AVE, GLENWOOD, IA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
10 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Balfour in 10 storm reports between 2011 and 2025: 6 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Balfour | - | Personal weather station measured wind gust of 61 mph. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Balfour | - | A tornado developed and snapped trees at a home on Lucas Road, moving quickly to the northeast where it cut a 30 yard wide swath of snapped trees and branches. Additional sporadic tree damage was noted near Kane Avenue. A farm was badly damaged along Jagger Road, with one large shed completely destroyed and two large grain bins destroyed with debris deposited a half mile downstream. The tornado then crossed Highway 34 a quarter-mile west of 270th Street damaging a power pole. Damage continued northeast through open fields crossing the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line where large tree branches were snapped. The tornado continued northeast damaging two farmsteads along Hershey Avenue where several outbuildings sustained high-end EF1 damage. Many trees were snapped at both farmsteads. Peak estimated winds from this tornado were 100 miles per hour. This tornado achieved a maximum width of 250 yards, with an average width estimated at 150 yards. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Balfour | - | Storm chaser reported 1-inch hail. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Balfour | - | Public reported 1.5-inch hail. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Balfour | - | Storm chaser reported 1-inch hail. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Balfour | - | Trained spotter estimated winds near 60 mph. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Balfour | - | A trailer was blow over onto its side from the strong winds. |
| July 2014 | Hail | Balfour | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Balfour | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Balfour | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsdale | 2.9 miles | 12 | |
| Glenwood | 4.0 miles | 12 | |
| Silver City | 4.7 miles | 12 | |
| Malvern | 5.4 miles | 10 | |
| Mills | 5.6 miles | 13 | |
| Mineola | 6.7 miles | 11 | |
| Pacific City | 7.0 miles | 13 | |
| Pacific Junction | 7.3 miles | 13 |
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 Balfour | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q114658156 | The 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 464455. 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.





