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Hartley, Iowa

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Hartley Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51346. The Survey maps it on the Hartley quadrangle. 1,605 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,463 feet above sea level.

Hartley within O'Brien County

Population over time

2 figures

Hartley fell from 1,672 to 1,605 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
20101,672
20201,605-67 (-4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 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

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Hartley: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: 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
Bruegmann ParkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Kuehl PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Ralphs Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in O'Brien County

Storms near this place

44 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hartley in 44 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 25 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1993Thunderstorm WindHartley$50,000no account filed
August 1993Thunderstorm WindHartley$50,000no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindHartley$10,000Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including whole trees down.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindHartley$5,000Thunderstorm winds blew off part of the roof of a machine shed.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHartley$5,000Thunderstorm winds destroyed a machine shed.
June 1994HailHartley$5,000no account filed
September 2025HailHartley-Hail was mostly pea to dime size, but several stones were from quarter up to golf ball size.
June 2024Flash FloodHartley-Three to five inches of rain late evening resulted in flash flooding. U.S. Highway 18 was inundated and impassible in multiple locations between Sheldon and Hartley. Multiple vehicles were submerged with at least one water rescue performed. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for areal and river flooding for O'Brien County.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindHartley-Power poles leaning on the west edge of town.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindHartley-A thunderstorm wind gust of 79 mph was measured by personal weather station KIAHARTL8 5 miles west of Hartley. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
May 2022HailHartley-Quarter to half-dollar size hail fell for a few minutes.
September 2018Flash FloodHartley-Significant street flooding on Central Avenue in Hartley.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindHartley-Extensive tree damage occurred at a property on the south side of Hartley, with numerous large limbs in excess of 6 inches in diameter broken and a few trees split due to strong winds. A two-story home experienced broken windows and some minor roof and siding damage.
June 2018Flash FloodHartley-Torrential rainfall was localized across parts of northwest Iowa. Hartley measured 6 to 6.5 inches rainfall in just 2 to 3 hours, which produced widespread flooding within the city and water overrunning U.S. Highway 18 two miles east of Hartley. Numerous basements were inundated with water, which stood from 1 to 3 feet in depth in much of town.
June 2018Flash FloodHartley-Rainfall of 6 to 6.5 inches resulted in significant flooding through much of Hartley with water standing up to 3 feet in depth. Storm sewers backed up all over town, with water encroaching into many basements.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindHartley-Thunderstorm winds caused minor tree damage.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindHartley-Thunderstorm winds blew down limbs and a few power poles, and damaged corn crops. The amount of damage was not known.
June 2013HailHartley-Nickel size hail was accompanied by heavy rain.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindHartley-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down.
September 2010HailHartley-Large hail covered the ground to ankle deep.
September 2010HailHartley-Small hail falling for 15 to 20 minutes increased to quarter size just before ending.
June 2010HailHartley-Golf ball size hail caused an unknown amount of damage to vehicles, causing dents and cracked windows.
May 2005Tornado (F0)Hartley-A brief tornado caused no reported damage.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Hartley-A brief tornado caused no reported damage.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindHartley-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including two to four inch diameter branches broken off.
June 2024HailHartley-no account filed
July 2023HailHartley-no account filed
June 2020HailHartley-no account filed
August 2017HailHartley-no account filed
June 2013HailHartley-no account filed
June 2013HailHartley-no account filed
May 2009HailHartley-no account filed
May 2009HailHartley-no account filed
May 2004HailHartley-no account filed
May 2004HailHartley-no account filed
May 2004HailHartley-no account filed
May 2004HailHartley-no account filed
May 2004HailHartley-no account filed
June 2004HailHartley-no account filed
August 2003HailHartley-no account filed
April 2001HailHartley-no account filed
June 2001HailHartley-no account filed
June 2001HailHartley-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindHartley-no account filed

Every storm recorded in O'Brien 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
Plessis5.3 miles7
Moneta5.8 miles7
Max6.3 miles7
Sanborn9.5 miles7
Primghar10.2 miles7
Gaza12.3 miles7
Sutherland14.2 miles9
Mapleside14.5 miles7

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 HartleyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1932272The 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 457297. 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.