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Newell, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Newell Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50568. The Survey maps it on the Newell West quadrangle. 906 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,263 feet above sea level.

Newell within Buena Vista County

On record in Newell

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Newell grew from 876 to 906 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
2010876
2020906+30 (+3%)

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

1 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Newell in 2011, burning about 3 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
2 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources210TH & 600TH, IA

Every fire recorded in Buena Vista 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 Newell: 5 past producers. None of them 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
Sturchler PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Buena Vista County

Storms near this place

26 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Newell in 26 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 10 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2011Tornado (EF2)Newell$1,000,000A tornado affected several farmsteads, damaging several homes, some beyond repair. The tornado destroyed or damaged numerous outbuildings, several silos, farm equipment, and livestock shelters. Numerous power lines, power poles, and trees were blown down. The tornado crossed into Buena Vista County from Sac County, then crossed out of Buena Vista County into Pocahontas County.
May 2013Flash FloodNewell$500,000Widespread heavy rainfall of up to 8 inches caused flash flooding which was also widespread, affecting the western and southern parts of the county. There was significant flooding of numerous streets and homes, with an estimated 1,500 homes and businesses in the city of Storm Lake affected by basement or lower level flooding. The Storm Lake City Hall was included, with two feet of water in its basement. Rural areas in the western part of the county were also impacted, with numerous roads, fields, and homes flooded.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindNewell$12,000Utility poles along Highway 7 tilted by the strong winds.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindNewell$10,000Damage to a hog barn.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindNewell$10,000Garage damaged.
April 2011Tornado (EF1)Newell$10,000A tornado caused damage to outbuildings and other farm structures.
April 2011Tornado (EF2)Newell$10,000A tornado crossed into Buena Vista County from Sac County, and damaged farm structures and trees on a farmstead before dissipating.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindNewell$5,000Garage damaged.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindNewell$2,000Thunderstorm winds caused roof damage to outbuildings on a farmstead.
May 2023Tornado (EF0)Newell-A tornado quickly spun up east of 230th Avenue and north of 620th Street in an open field. The tornado traveled to the north-northwest for several minutes, then crossed roadways near the intersection of 230th Avenue and 600th Street. The tornado impacted a small farmstead on the west side of 230th Avenue where it tore several shingles off an old barn and damaged numerous branches and several rotted trees. The tornado continued another quarter mile to the northwest before lifting. The maximum wind speed was 75 mph and the average path width was 50 yards.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindNewell-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including a large tree blown down onto a fence.
June 2007Flash FloodNewell-Heavy rain caused flooding of numerous streets and storm sewers.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindNewell-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including an unknown number of trees blown down.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindNewell-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, some large. The winds also blew down power lines.
May 2024HailNewell-no account filed
September 2012HailNewell-no account filed
September 2012HailNewell-no account filed
March 2007HailNewell-no account filed
June 2007HailNewell-no account filed
March 2006Thunderstorm WindNewell-no account filed
May 2006HailNewell-no account filed
May 2004HailNewell-no account filed
May 2001Thunderstorm WindNewell-no account filed
April 2001HailNewell-no account filed
April 2001HailNewell-no account filed
May 1998HailNewell-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Buena Vista 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
Sulphur Springs5.1 miles9
Juniata7.9 miles9
Lakeside9.1 miles9
Storm Lake11.2 miles9
Casino Beach12.0 miles9
Albert City12.5 miles8
Truesdale12.8 miles9
Alta16.0 miles10

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 NewellAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1927364The 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 459505. 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.