Bernard, Iowa
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Prairie Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52032. The Survey maps it on the Bernard quadrangle. 114 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 919 feet above sea level.
On record in Bernard
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
Washington Mill Bridgelisted 1998
Population over time
2 figuresBernard grew from 112 to 114 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 112 | |
| 2020 | 114 | +2 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 15 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.
- 1901 USGS Peosta quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1966 USGS Bernard quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Dubuque South quadrangle1:100000, 4 printings
Fires near this place
1 since 2020Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Bernard in 2020, burning about 2 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 August 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Bernard: 2 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Thole Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Lytle Creek Diggings | Lead | Occurrence | Galena | |
| Lytle Creek Diggings | Lead | Past Producer | ||
| Prospect | Lead | Occurrence | Galena |
Storms near this place
15 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bernard in 15 storm reports between 2006 and 2026: 7 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 tornado. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bernard | 1 hurt, $25,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew a semi truck off the road at the intersection of Highway 151 and Sundown Rd or about 9 miles west southwest of the Dubuque, IA Regional Airport at 1052 pm April 5. |
| March 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Bernard | $5,000 | This is a continuation of the tornado that moved in from Jackson County. Numerous trees suffered damage and outbuildings were destroyed. Roofs were torn off a hog confinement and a manufactured home. |
| March 2026 | Hail | Bernard | - | The time of the hail was estimated using radar. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bernard | - | A public report of numerous trees down with the main road in town blocked by falling trees. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bernard | - | Many trees with trunks snapped at this location. |
| July 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | Bernard | - | A 0.8 mile long EF-1 tornado with peak estimated wind speed of 95 mph caused damage to trees and a county road maintenance shed in Bernard. This tornado was surrounded by straight line wind damage with winds from 80 to 90 MPH. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bernard | - | Semi blown over with the driver trapped inside, just west of Bernard, Iowa. Farm |out-buildings down on multiple farms. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bernard | - | A grain bin and detached garage destroyed. |
| June 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Bernard | - | A tornado developed just west of Garry Owen in northwest Jackson County, and moved northeast along an intermittent 3 mile path through farm fields, lifting east of Bernard in southern Dubuque County. The tornado caused tree damage, and extensive damage to outbuildings at 4 farmsteads. The tornado was rated EF1, with maximum winds estimated at 90 to 100 mph, and was on the ground for about 6 minutes. There were no injuries. Assistance provided by Dubuque and Jackson County Emergency Management is much appreciated. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bernard | - | The emergency manager reported 4 trailers damaged for destroyed along with widespread tree damage. There was a 100 yard wide and 3/4 mile long path with|50-70 percent of trees blown down or snapped off. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bernard | - | The emergency manager estimated 80 to 90 mph winds that caused widespread damage in town. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Bernard | - | dime size hail on the Dubuque/Jackson line. |
| March 2026 | Hail | Bernard | - | no account filed |
| March 2026 | Hail | Bernard | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Bernard | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Mills | 2.7 miles | 15 | |
| Fillmore | 4.5 miles | 15 | |
| Bennettsville (historical) | 6.4 miles | 19 | |
| Pleasant Grove | 7.3 miles | 14 | |
| Zwingle | 7.7 miles | 19 | |
| Peosta | 9.6 miles | 15 | |
| Cascade | 9.7 miles | 12 | |
| Ballyclough | 9.9 miles | 20 |
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 Bernard | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1947854 | 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 454528. 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.






