BlockBefore

Moville, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Arlington Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51039. It stands on McElhaney Creek. The Survey maps it on the Moville quadrangle. 1,687 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,178 feet above sea level.

Moville within Woodbury County

Population over time

2 figures

Moville grew from 1,618 to 1,687 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
20101,618
20201,687+69 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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.

Fires near this place

52 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 52 fires within 5 miles of Moville between 2007 and 2019, burning about 438 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 burning26
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking1

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
26 September 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 September 2012Smoking12 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 September 2013Debris and open burning35 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 September 2013Debris and open burning13 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 August 2012Debris and open burning2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
5 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 July 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Woodbury County

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 Moville: 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
Moville PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rundal PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Tom Flewelling Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wright PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Woodbury County

Storms near this place

43 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Moville in 43 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 20 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 heavy rain. The reports record 2 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
June 2011Thunderstorm WindMoville2 hurt, $150,000Thunderstorm winds tore roofs off 3 homes and damaged the roofs of at least 40 other homes. The winds also caused widespread tree damage and overturned four campers. There were 2 people injured in the overturned campers.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindMoville$500,000Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including several trees blown down. The winds also destroyed two machine sheds, damaged roofs and siding on homes, blew down power lines, and damaged equipment at a construction project. The winds flattened some crops in the area, but the amount of crop damage was not known.
December 2021Tornado (EF1)Moville$200,000This tornado formed around 4 miles east-northeast of Moville, one-quarter mile east of the intersection of Jasper Avenue and 140th Street. The tornado traveled north-northeast for slightly over 4 and one quarter miles before exiting Woodbury County two miles south of Kingsley, just east of the intersection of Knox Avenue and 100th Street. The tornado continued in Plymouth County for somewhat less than 4 miles before dissipating at 1642CST. In Woodbury County near the touchdown point, a barn roof was collapsed. The tornado continued northeast for around a mile and a half before removing most roof panels from another barn. Near the Plymouth County line, the tornado encountered another farmstead which suffered total destruction of a garage and outbuilding. Numerous larger trees were snapped, and debris from damaged buildings was deposited in the trees. The tornado was rated EF1 while in both Woodbury and Plymouth Counties. The average path width in Woodbury County was 50 yards and the maximum estimated wind speed was 110 mph. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindMoville$50,000no account filed
June 1994Thunderstorm WindMoville$5,000no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindMoville$2,000Thunderstorm winds damaged a large fabric outbuilding.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMoville-A 70 mph wind gust was measured at the Woodbury County Fairgrounds.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMoville-Several moderate-sized branches were knocked down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindMoville-A thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph was measured by Iowa Road Weather Information System site RSCI4 1 mile southwest of Moville. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindMoville-Iowa RWIS station RSCI4, 1 mile southwest of Moville, measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
June 2016Flash FloodMoville-Heavy rain from thunderstorms caused flash flooding of several areas along and near Highway 20. Water was running over roads, forcing the closure of some roads.
August 2016Heavy RainMoville-Rainfall of 5 1/2 inches was reported by a viewer to a television station.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindMoville-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage.
June 2014Heavy RainMoville-Rainfall of 4.50 inches was measured.
June 2014FloodMoville-Repeated heavy rains caused Flooding on the West Fork Ditch, ranging from minor near Moville, to moderate near Hornick. Agricultural land and a few roads were flooded. The stream crested at 2.69 feet above flood stage near Moville and 3.59 feet above flood stage near Hornick, both on June 17th.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindMoville-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous branches blown down.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindMoville-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including large branches blown down.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindMoville-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including branches blown down.
July 2003Tornado (F0)Moville-A brief tornado caused no reported damage.
July 2003HailMoville-Large hail caused an unknown amount of crop damage.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindMoville-Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree and power line damage, with power lines blocking at least one road, and resulting power outages. The winds destroyed a shelter, garage, and outbuilding about halfway between Moville and Anthon.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindMoville-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage.
September 2023HailMoville-no account filed
November 2015HailMoville-no account filed
October 2013HailMoville-no account filed
July 2012HailMoville-no account filed
April 2011HailMoville-no account filed
May 2009HailMoville-no account filed
July 2008HailMoville-no account filed
July 2008HailMoville-no account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindMoville-no account filed
June 2005HailMoville-no account filed
June 2005HailMoville-no account filed
August 2005HailMoville-no account filed
August 2005HailMoville-no account filed
May 2004HailMoville-no account filed
May 2004HailMoville-no account filed
May 2004HailMoville-no account filed
July 2003HailMoville-no account filed
July 2003HailMoville-no account filed
June 2003HailMoville-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindMoville-no account filed
June 1996HailMoville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Woodbury 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
Lawton5.9 miles9
Bronson9.2 miles9
Lucky Valley (historical)10.1 miles8
Climbing Hill10.2 miles9
Pierson11.5 miles9
Anthon12.9 miles8
Luton13.1 miles9
Glen Ellen14.0 miles12

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 MovilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1927489The 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 459367. 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.