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Leon, Iowa

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1981. It stands in Leon City. It lies in ZIP code area 50144. The Survey maps it on the Leon quadrangle. 1,822 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,125 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Leon within Decatur County

On record in Leon

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Leon fell from 1,977 to 1,822 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
20101,977
20201,822-155 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Leon: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, 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
Mills Brick YardClayPast Producer
Millsap QuarriesStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Decatur County

Storms near this place

53 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Leon in 53 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 22 hail, 21 thunderstorm wind, 4 lightning, 2 flash flood. The reports record 5 injuries. 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 2001Thunderstorm WindLeon2 hurt, $25,000no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindLeon2 hurt, $5,000no account filed
August 2010LightningLeon1 hurtA 15 year old girl was struck by lightning.
March 2022Tornado (EF2)Leon$500,000This tornado passed through three counties including Decatur, Wayne and Lucas. The tornado developed east of Leon in central Decatur county and headed northeast. The torndo remained in rural areas of the county for the duration of its path. Damage was primarily to broken power poles, although residential house damage was also noted. A roof was removed from a house just east of Garden Grove producing EF2 damage with other damage to nearby outbuildings also noted. The tornado exited into Wayne county just north of 140th Street.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindLeon$200,000Significant tree damage in the town of Leon. An estimated 100 to 200 trees felled in town with large trees littering the town. Trees fell on the roofs of many houses, but no major structural damage.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindLeon$90,000Osceola Fire Department reported a grain bin toppled and blocking US Highway 69. Time estimated via radar.
September 1993Thunderstorm WindLeon$50,000no account filed
June 2008HailLeon$30,000Extensive hail damage to a RV camper and a residential skylight.
September 1996LightningLeon$30,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindLeon$25,000no account filed
September 2018Thunderstorm WindLeon$20,000Law enforcement reported power lines down and a power outage in Leon. Basement flooding was also reported at some locations in the area. This is a delayed report.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindLeon$20,000no account filed
September 2014Thunderstorm WindLeon$10,000Large tree branches reported down.
June 2008Flash FloodLeon$10,000Water reported over roads in Leon.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindLeon$10,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindLeon$10,000no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindLeon$5,000Heavy rain and pea size hail also reported west of Leon. Wind speed estimated.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLeon$5,000Power lines and tree limbs were down in town.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindLeon$5,000no account filed
April 2006HailLeon$5,000no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLeon$5,000no account filed
June 2005HailLeon$5,000no account filed
May 2004HailLeon$5,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindLeon$5,000no account filed
August 2003HailLeon$5,000no account filed
April 2001LightningLeon$5,000no account filed
August 1999LightningLeon$5,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindLeon$5,000no account filed
May 1996HailLeon$5,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLeon$3,000Large tree limbs were blown down.
May 2004HailLeon$2,000no account filed
July 2001HailLeon$2,000no account filed
April 2015HailLeon$1,000no account filed
April 2010Thunderstorm WindLeon$1,000no account filed
May 2004HailLeon$1,000no account filed
May 2004HailLeon$1,000no account filed
September 2000HailLeon$1,000no account filed
August 2025Heavy RainLeon-Event total rainfall of 3.07 inches from personal weather station.
June 2025Flash FloodLeon-Heavy rain occurred over the area with over 3 inches in an hour. This resulted in a number of flooded roads in town, with water actively flowing at mid rim height on vehicles in flood waters. Impacts were largely confined to town which lies lower that surroundings area. Highway 69, coming into town from the north, had water over it for a time but this remained minor enough that a road closure was not needed.
May 2024HailLeon-Time of occurrence estimated from radar.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindLeon-Social media photo of wind blown hail causing damage to siding, windows, gutters, screens, and air conditioner. Time estimated by radar.
May 2018HailLeon-Law enforcement reported quarter sized hail.
April 2016HailLeon-Emergency Manager reported nickel sized hail.
July 2010Funnel CloudLeon-Storm chasers reported a brief funnel southeast of Leon.
August 2009Heavy RainLeon-Rainfall amount of 4.07 inches was reported.
June 2004HailLeon-Dime size hail
March 2014HailLeon-no account filed
March 2014HailLeon-no account filed
June 2008HailLeon-no account filed
April 2006HailLeon-no account filed
March 2005Thunderstorm WindLeon-no account filed
May 2004HailLeon-no account filed
April 2003HailLeon-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Decatur 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
Decatur4.6 miles10
Blockly (historical)5.5 miles10
Kingston6.9 miles7
Barrell (historical)7.0 miles10
Terre Haute7.4 miles10
Davis City7.7 miles10
High Point8.3 miles7
Woodland8.5 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 LeonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1911261The 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 458291. 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.