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Lafayette, Iowa

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Otter Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52202. The Survey maps it on the Lafayette quadrangle.

Lafayette within Linn County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 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

8 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Lafayette between 2003 and 2004, burning about 11 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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
Recreation and ceremony4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Arson/incendiarism1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
9 June 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
2 April 2003Arson/incendiarismunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
14 April 2003Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
1 April 2003Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
23 March 2004Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
13 March 2004Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
10 March 2004Recreation and ceremony5.0 acresIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
29 November 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Linn 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 Lafayette: 8 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Oliphant PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Alice QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Fishel QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Robins QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Linn County

Storms near this place

12 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lafayette in 12 storm reports between 2003 and 2021: 7 hail, 3 tornado, 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
April 2009Tornado (EF1)Lafayette$500,000An EF1 tornado with estimated wind speeds of up to 100 mph touched down near Lafayette, IA around 452 pm and proceeded to track northeast crossing the Linn-Delaware County line around 510 pm, finally lifting just north of Buck Creek, IA around 530 pm. Several farms sustained structural and equipment damage, trees were uprooted or snapped off, some camping trailers were destroyed, and several power lines were blown down.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindLafayette$3,000Trees down.
July 2021Tornado (EFU)Lafayette-Brief touchdown in a field with no visible damage.
June 2020HailLafayette-Local broadcast media reported a spiked hail stone that was roughly quarter sized. One of the spikes measured 1.2 inches.
September 2018Tornado (EF1)Lafayette-A NWS storm survey determined an EF1 tornado touched down just northwest of Alburnett and moved east northeast along an intermittent path for around 5 miles. The tornado lifted southwest of Central City. The tornado damaged trees and crops, and some siding on one house.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindLafayette-Large trees limbs were reported blown down on Alice Road, between Alice and Toddville.
April 2010HailLafayette-Quarter sized hail fell about 4 miles east of Center Point, IA at 640 pm April 5.
April 2009HailLafayette-Quarter-sized hail fell about 5 miles east of Center Point, IA at 449 pm.
May 2014HailLafayette-no account filed
May 2014HailLafayette-no account filed
June 2009HailLafayette-no account filed
April 2007HailLafayette-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Linn 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
Midway3.0 miles18
Alburnett3.3 miles15
Alice3.6 miles15
Toddville3.8 miles18
Robins5.3 miles18
Center Point6.3 miles14
Rogers6.4 miles15
Sunset Village7.0 miles18

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 458170. 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.