BlockBefore

Oralabor, Iowa

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Crocker Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50021. The Survey maps it on the Des Moines NE quadrangle.

Oralabor within Polk County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 16 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

3 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Oralabor between 2011 and 2017, burning about 4 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
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
2 July 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural ResourcesU.S 20 @ N-57, IA
4 April 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 February 2017Debris and open burning3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Oralabor: 3 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
Berwick PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bowser PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Morning Star PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

35 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oralabor in 35 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 11 heavy rain, 10 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 3 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 2018Flash FloodOralabor$200,000Public reported flooding along Rock Creek near NW 13th St in Ankeny.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindOralabor$100,000Twenty to 30 Black Locust trees 1 to 2 feet in diameter and 50 to 60 feet tall were downed or snapped off. A few were uprooted at the intersection of 35th St. and Highway 415. Trees were on top of a house as well.
September 2010LightningOralabor$50,000no account filed
June 2019LightningOralabor$25,000Lightning struck a tree and the tree fell on a deck and car in Ankeny.
April 2012Flash FloodOralabor$25,000Street flooding reported with one to two feet in Ankeny near the HyVee and High School by 1st street.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindOralabor$25,000Seven power poles were blown down near the intersection of northwest 26th Street and northwest 110th by high winds.
May 2013HailOralabor$25,000no account filed
September 2013Thunderstorm WindOralabor$10,000Winds estimated at 60 MPH.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindOralabor$10,000Several power poles were blown down.
June 2011HailOralabor$3,000Average size of hail was 1.25 inches with minor tree damage.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindOralabor$2,000A trained spotter estimated wind gusts of 60 MPH.
March 2011HailOralabor$2,000no account filed
May 2008HailOralabor$1,000no account filed
May 2025HailOralabor-Report via mping.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindOralabor-A wind gust of 58 mph was reported.
July 2021HailOralabor-NWS Employee reports half dollar to golf ball sized hail.
July 2020Heavy RainOralabor-A personal weather station reported 3.12 inches of rain in two hours.
July 2020Heavy RainOralabor-A personal weather station recorded a 24 hour rain total of 2.2 inches.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindOralabor-Public report of mailboxes, trees, and limbs of undetermined size down.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindOralabor-A trained spotter reported six inch and larger tree limbs down with power outages. Severe winds lasted 30 minutes.
May 2018Heavy RainOralabor-CoCoRaHS observer recorded heavy rainfall of 1.71 inches over the last 24 hours.
April 2017Heavy RainOralabor-CoCoRaHS report of 1.14 inches over the past 24 hours and 1.97 inches over the past 48 hours.
September 2017Heavy RainOralabor-Public reported storm total heavy rainfall of 2.50 inches on the west side of Ankeny.
March 2016HailOralabor-Trained spotter reported quarter sized hail in Ankeny.
March 2016HailOralabor-Trained spotter reported quarter sized hail in Ankeny.
March 2016HailOralabor-Spotter reported quarter sized hail.
August 2016Heavy RainOralabor-Public reported heavy rainfall of 2.6 inches. Location estimated and reported via social media.
June 2015Flash FloodOralabor-Law enforcement reported flooded intersection due to heavy rainfall and rapid runoff. Road blocked after reported inundation at NW College and NW 4th streets.
June 2015Heavy RainOralabor-Mesonet reported heavy rainfall of 2.52 inches over the last 24 hours. Mesonet station 2 W Ankeny D3886.
June 2015Heavy RainOralabor-Public reported heavy rainfall of 3.10 inches over the last 24 hours in NW Ankeny.
June 2014Heavy RainOralabor-Twenty four hour rainfall total of 2.93 inches.
August 2014Heavy RainOralabor-Rainfall in the past 24 hours was 2.35 inches.
April 2023HailOralabor-no account filed
June 2009Heavy RainOralabor-no account filed
June 2009Funnel CloudOralabor-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Polk 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
Carney1.0 miles16
Saylor Station1.4 miles16
Ankeny2.3 miles16
Saylor2.4 miles16
Saylorville2.7 miles17
Marquisville3.1 miles16
Quilhart (historical)3.2 miles16
Berwick3.3 miles16

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 459877. 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.