Morley, Iowa
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Rome Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52312. It stands on North Fork Walnut Creek. The Survey maps it on the Morley quadrangle. 96 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 797 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresMorley fell from 115 to 96 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 | 115 | |
| 2020 | 96 | -19 (-17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 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.
- 1891 USGS Monticello quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1900 USGS Anamosa quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1900 USGS Farley quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Morley quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Anamosa quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
15 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Morley between 2006 and 2019, burning about 89 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 | 9 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 July 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 April 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 23 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 April 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 20 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 20 April 2019 | 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
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Morley: 2 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knapp Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
13 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Morley in 13 storm reports between 2001 and 2022: 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 flood, 1 flash flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Morley | $8,000 | A downburst leveled an outbuilding and damaged two grain bins. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Morley | $2,000 | Tree limbs down and windows damaged |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Morley | - | The Morely Fire Chief estimated a peak wind speed of 65 MPH. . |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Morley | - | Tree limbed blown down along a house. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Morley | - | Corn damaged, and several trees blown down. |
| May 2020 | Tornado (EFU) | Morley | - | A tornado developed southwest of Mechanicsville shortly before 1 pm, and tracked northeast through northern Cedar County. The tornado crossed into Jones County about 3 miles S of Morley before dissipating. The tornado was rated EF1 in Cedar County with maximum winds estimated around 95 mph. The tornado is designated as EF-U in Jones County as there was no observable damage. The tornado was on the ground for about 16 minutes along an intermittent 7 mile path. Assistance with the survey was provided by Cedar County Emergency Management and the Mechanicsville Fire Department. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Morley | - | A trained spotter reported hail up to the size of quarters. The time was estimated by radar. |
| April 2017 | Hail | Morley | - | Broadcast media relayed a public report of 1.50 inch hail. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Morley | - | The emergency manager reported the low lying town of Morley was evacuated. |
| July 2002 | Flood | Morley | - | Walnut Creek overflowed its banks. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Morley | - | 60 mph wind gust estimated by trained storm spotter. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Morley | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Morley | - | 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.
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 Morley | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1927397 | 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 459231. 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.








