BlockBefore

Dows, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Blaine Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50071. The Survey maps it on the Dows West quadrangle.

Dows within Wright County

On record in Dows

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 3 records

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 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.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Dows: 8 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Dows QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Denger PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Dows PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Marlowe Oakland PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Meineke PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Patterson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Stuck PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Wright County

Storms near this place

27 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dows in 27 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 tornado, 2 funnel cloud. 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
May 1995HailDows$75,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindDows$50,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindDows$45,000Significant damage to an outbuilding on a farm near Dows. Images found via social media.
March 2005Tornado (F1)Dows$30,000Tornado destroyed a garage and ripped the roof off of a barn northwest of Dows.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Dows$20,000This tornado entered into Wright County from Hamilton County. The tornado immediately impacted a hog confinement building upon entering the county producing severe damage to the back third of one of the buildings with EF1 damage. The tornado continued northward before a more northwest movement occurred and dissipated shortly thereafter.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDows$20,000Semi blown over at mile post 154 on I-35.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDows$10,000Trained spotter reports wind gusts in excess of 60 MPH. Power out in Dows.
April 2008HailDows$10,000no account filed
March 2006Thunderstorm WindDows$10,000no account filed
May 2004Thunderstorm WindDows$10,000no account filed
July 2013Thunderstorm WindDows$5,000A large tree branch was downed. It took out a power line and blocked a road.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindDows$5,000no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindDows$5,000no account filed
April 2014HailDows$3,000no account filed
May 2008HailDows$2,000Report was received from a KCCI TV viewer. Time was estimated.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindDows$2,000no account filed
May 2004HailDows$2,000no account filed
August 2004HailDows$2,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindDows-Wind gust measured by an RWIS from the Iowa DOT.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindDows-Williams RWIS report of 50 knot wind.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindDows-Fire department reported large limbs down in town of around 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
September 2018Heavy RainDows-Public reported heavy rainfall of 3.25 inches and still raining as of time of the report.
June 2017Funnel CloudDows-Public reported a funnel cloud looking north of the truck stop near I-35 and Highway 20 interchange.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindDows-Iowa DOT RWIS station measured a 60 mph wind gust.
July 2010Funnel CloudDows-Small short-lived funnels extending less than half way down from the base of the cloud.
May 2010HailDows-no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDows-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wright 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
Galt6.1 miles9
Rowan6.4 miles9
Sollberg9.2 miles9
Morhain9.3 miles9
Clarion13.3 miles9
Cornelia13.3 miles9
Belmond14.4 miles9
Florence17.1 miles9

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 455978. 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.

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.