BlockBefore

Norwalk, Iowa

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1931 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Linn Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50211. The Survey maps it on the Norwalk quadrangle. 12,799 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 945 feet above sea level.

Norwalk within Warren County

Population over time

2 figures

Norwalk grew from 8,945 to 12,799 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
20108,945
202012,799+3,854 (+43%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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

4 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Norwalk between 2006 and 2015, burning about 9 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/undetermined2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Debris and open burning1

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
13 September 2013Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 April 2015Debris and open burning4.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 February 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 November 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Warren County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Norwalk: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Flagstone. 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
Lockridge Sandstone QuarryFlagstonePast Producer

Every working recorded in Warren County

Storms near this place

60 of 105 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Norwalk in 105 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 41 hail, 27 thunderstorm wind, 19 heavy rain, 6 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
June 2007Tornado (EF1)Norwalk$300,000Tornado spotted by the Norwalk Fire Department, law enforcement, Warren County Emergency Manager, and trained spotters. Touched down near Norwalk, then tracked southeast into northeast Norwalk, then east-southeast of Norwalk. Damage was done to several buildings. One house had the roof taken off. Numerous trees and power lines were downed.
June 2023LightningNorwalk$150,000House fire started by lightning strike. The home experienced significant damage to the roof and upper floor. Time matched to CG lightning data.
September 2014Flash FloodNorwalk$100,000Water 3 to 5 feet deep reported on Cherry Street.
June 2011Flash FloodNorwalk$100,000Eight to 10 inches of water flowing rapidly across lawns.
September 2014Flash FloodNorwalk$50,000Highway 28 shutdown and portions of S23 closed with water over the road.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$50,000no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$40,000Public relayed picture of a large tree on the roof of a home. Time estimated from radar.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$25,000Numerous trees and power lines downed across town.
May 2007FloodNorwalk$25,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$20,000Trained spotter reported 70 MPH winds and nickel size hail in Norwalk.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$15,000Trained spotter reported many large branches and trees down. During the rainfall, about 2.5 inches of rain came in about half an hour along with pea sized hail. Winds were estimated in the 76 to 85 mph range.
March 2006HailNorwalk$15,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$15,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$15,000no account filed
May 2004HailNorwalk$15,000no account filed
May 2014HailNorwalk$10,000Winds gusts to 60 MPH as well.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$10,000Estimated 65 MPH winds with 3 to 6 inch diameter tree branches down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$10,000Trained spotter reported winds gusting to 65 MPH with pea size hail in Norwalk.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$10,000A power pole was blown down in rural Warren County.
April 2007FloodNorwalk$10,000no account filed
May 2004Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$10,000no account filed
April 2003HailNorwalk$10,000no account filed
May 2001HailNorwalk$10,000no account filed
May 2001HailNorwalk$10,000no account filed
August 2014Flash FloodNorwalk$5,000Three feet of standing water was reported over the road.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$5,000Wind gusts of up to 70 MPH blew shingles off of a roof.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$5,000Pea size hail also occurred.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$5,000Numerous reports of power lines down in Norwalk.
June 2008Flash FloodNorwalk$5,000Six to eight inches of water was running over the road in places, with up to a foot of standing water in places.
June 2008Flash FloodNorwalk$5,000Water reported over numerous city streets.
June 2011HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
April 2006Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$5,000no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$5,000no account filed
May 2001HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
May 2001HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$5,000no account filed
April 1994HailNorwalk$5,000no account filed
June 2008HailNorwalk$3,000Amateur Radio Operator reported penny to nickel size hail and winds gusting to near 60 MPH in Norwalk.
June 2008HailNorwalk$3,000no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$3,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$3,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$3,000no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$3,000no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$3,000no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$2,000Pine tree branch fell and damaged the side of a house roof. Time estimated by radar.
June 2009FloodNorwalk$2,000Cumming Highway and several gravel roads were covered with water due to the North River flooding.
May 2001Heavy RainNorwalk$2,000Two and one half inches of rain in under two hours time.
April 2012HailNorwalk$2,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$2,000no account filed
March 2006HailNorwalk$2,000no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$1,000Lawn furniture was blown away.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindNorwalk$1,000no account filed
May 1993HailNorwalk$500no account filed
April 2025HailNorwalk-Penny sized hail reported in Norwalk by broadcast media.
June 2024Funnel CloudNorwalk-Public report of a funnel cloud near Norwalk, viewed from the south.
November 2022Heavy RainNorwalk-A 24 hour rain total of 2.12 inches.

Every storm recorded in Warren 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
Lakewood1.8 miles16
Orilla3.5 miles16
Greenbush3.7 miles11
Cumming4.5 miles9
Spring Hill4.8 miles11
Prole5.2 miles11
Scotch Ridge6.4 miles11
Churchville6.7 miles9

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 NorwalkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1065562The 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 459658. 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.