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Onawa, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Onawa City. It lies in ZIP code area 51040. The Survey maps it on the Onawa quadrangle. 2,906 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,050 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Onawa within Monona County

On record in Onawa

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 4 records

Population over time

3 figures

Onawa fell from 3,091 to 2,906 between 2000 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
20003,091
20102,998-93 (-3%)
20202,906-92 (-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

8 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Onawa between 2006 and 2017, burning about 48 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/undetermined5
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
6 September 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 August 2012Smokingunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 August 2012Smokingunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 June 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined35 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 April 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 February 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 January 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Monona 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 Onawa: 1 unknown. 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
MorvilleSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Monona County

Storms near this place

45 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Onawa in 45 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 21 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 4 flash flood, 1 tornado. 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
July 2008Thunderstorm WindOnawa2 hurtThunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph blew some trees down on top of campers at the Lewis and Clark State Park, causing 2 minor injuries. Some campers in the area were also rolled due to the winds.
May 2007Flash FloodOnawa$1,440,000Rainfall of 3 to 4 inches produce flash flooding of streets in Onawa. Other creeks across the county flooded county roads causing road, bridge and levee damage.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindOnawa$40,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph caused roof damage to a business by displacing large air-conditioning units. The winds also blew the roof canopy off of a truck stop into cars in a parking lot.
August 1996Thunderstorm WindOnawa$12,000no account filed
August 2001Tornado (F0)Onawa$5,000A tornado touched down northwest of Onawa overturning a center pivot irrigation system according to a law enforcement official. The tornado was also captured on film from someone staying at the Lewis and Clark State Park. All of the pictures taken showed that the condensation portion of the tornado was very narrow. The path of the tornado crossed I-29 before lifting around 2 miles north northwest of Onawa.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindOnawa$5,000no account filed
March 2025Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Public estimated wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph, lasting nearly 10 minutes.
June 2024HailOnawa-A report from mPING of 3.5 inch hail.
July 2021HailOnawa-Emergency manager relayed reported of 1.5 inch hail.
July 2019Flash FloodOnawa-Three to five inches of rain caused some minor flooding on city streets.
August 2013Flash FloodOnawa-Heavy rain caused some minor flash flooding of a few streets in the Onawa area.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindOnawa-The brick front of a building facet at a car dealership was blown off and fell onto a couple of automobiles.
May 2012HailOnawa-Hail up to quarter-size fell south of Onawa.
June 2012Flash FloodOnawa-Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in a few hours caused flash flooding across several street in the Onawa area. However, damage was apparently minimal.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph downed trees in the Onawa area which blocked a few roads. Torrential rain also caused some brief street flooding in town.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at around 60 mph a little north of the Onawa area.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts around 60 mph knocked a large tree down blocking a road in Onawa. The winds also blew down power lines trapping a traveler on a highway near town for a while until electrical crews could move the lines.
February 2009HailOnawa-Hail up to 3/4 inches in diameter was reported on the west side of Onawa.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph knocked down a few trees up to 2 feet in diameter. Power lines were also downed in the vicinity.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph caused chimney damage to a house and downed a few tree limbs.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Estimated thunderstorm wind gusts.
April 2006Funnel CloudOnawa-Several cold-air, or non-thunderstorm funnel clouds were reported from around Onawa toward Mapleton. These very narrow funnels did not appear to touch the ground, and were not even associated with any precipitation. Occasionally more than 1 appeared at the same time. These funnels were observed on both sides of the Missouri River from south of Omaha toward the Onawa area and made the local news reports.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph caused scattered tree damage around town, including 1 tree limb that fell onto a law enforcement vehicle causing significant damage.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 mph broke or uprooted large trees, some up to 4 feet in diameter, from just west of Onawa to south of Blencoe. A large tree fell on a mobile home near Onawa.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gust estimated at around 60 mph by law enforcement.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts downed power lines which briefly closed Interstate 29 north of Onawa.
October 2000HailOnawa-Hail...some as large as 1.5 inches in diameter, covered the ground near Onawa.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Widespread trees damage. Power lines downed.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Numerous trees downed.
September 2019HailOnawa-no account filed
March 2017HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2012HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2012HailOnawa-no account filed
April 2011HailOnawa-no account filed
August 2011HailOnawa-no account filed
August 2007HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2004HailOnawa-no account filed
July 2003HailOnawa-no account filed
June 2003HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2001HailOnawa-no account filed
August 2001HailOnawa-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindOnawa-no account filed
April 1998HailOnawa-no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindOnawa-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindOnawa-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Monona 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
Kennebec6.6 miles9
Blencoe6.7 miles8
Turin7.0 miles9
Whiting7.5 miles9
Maple Landing (historical)7.6 miles9
Castana10.5 miles9
Ticonic12.3 miles8
Rodney14.5 miles8

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 OnawaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1784165The 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 459865. 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.