Palo, Iowa
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1993. It stands in Fayette Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52324. It stands on Dry Creek. The Survey maps it on the Shellsburg quadrangle. 1,407 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 741 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresPalo grew from 1,026 to 1,407 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,026 | |
| 2020 | 1,407 | +381 (+37%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1888 USGS Shellsburg quadrangle1:62500
- 1889 USGS Shellsburg quadrangle1:62500
- 1899 USGS Shellsburg quadrangle1:62500
- 1903 USGS Winthrop quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1968 USGS Shellsburg quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1976 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Anamosa quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1993 USGS Shellsburg quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
19 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Palo between 2003 and 2017, burning about 34 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 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/undetermined | 10 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 3.0 acres | Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 30 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 6671 LINN - BENTON RD., PALO, IA, IA |
| 23 June 2012 | Natural | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 May 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 3 April 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 23 April 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 April 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 15 April 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 14 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Palo: 11 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Old Long Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Owens Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Palo Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Aggregates Inc. Site No. 1 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Cedar Rapids Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Francik Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Freese Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
31 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Palo in 31 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 12 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 3 funnel cloud, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 death. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | Lightning | Palo | 1 killed | A 42 year old female was struck and killed by lightning while camping at the Pleasant Creek State Recreation Area near Palo. |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F3) | Palo | $250,000 | Rated F3 with winds estimated at 175 mph. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | $50,000 | Grain silos and a cabin were damaged. Reported by trained storm spotters. |
| May 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Palo | $5,000 | Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding of Bear Creek north of Palo, IA forcing the closure of Palo Marsh Road during the late morning and afternoon of June 15. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | $3,000 | Power out |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | Report of 70 mph wind gust from thunderstorm. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | Local law enforcement reported large tree branches down on power lines near the intersection of Covington Road and Lone Tree Road. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | A trained spotter observed power flashes around 5:10 AM CDT this morning and later in the morning there were power lines observed down in the area with the power out. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Palo | - | Hail reported at Duane Arnold Energy Center. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Palo | - | Penny size hail and heavy rain was reported. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Palo | - | Hail started as quarter size, increased to golf ball size, and lasted 8 minutes. |
| November 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | A public report of winds up to 60 mph occurred with 1 to 2 inch diameter branches broken off. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | The emergency manager reported trees down and roofs blown off homes from Palo to Toddville. Winds were estimated over 80 mph. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph were observed in Palo, IA around 524 am CDT July 11. This report was relayed by the emergency manager. |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Palo | - | Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding of streets and creeks in Cedar Rapids, IA and Marion, IA during the early evening of June 18. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Palo | - | The fire department observed penny size hail near Palo. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | Severe winds pushed an empty grain train down the tracks. Reported by emergency management. |
| July 2000 | Funnel Cloud | Palo | - | Law enforcement reported a funnel cloud in the Palo area. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Palo | - | A Cedar Rapids television station reported a 60 mph thunderstorm gust at a residence near Palo. |
| March 1998 | Heavy Rain | Palo | - | Strong thunderstorm dumped 3 inches of rain on Palo |
| March 2022 | Hail | Palo | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Palo | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Palo | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Palo | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Funnel Cloud | Palo | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Funnel Cloud | Palo | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Palo | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Palo | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Palo | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covington | 4.4 miles | 16 | |
| Toddville | 4.7 miles | 18 | |
| Linn Junction | 5.1 miles | 18 | |
| New Buffalo | 5.3 miles | 18 | |
| Midway | 5.9 miles | 18 | |
| Hiawatha | 6.4 miles | 18 | |
| Sunset Village | 6.5 miles | 18 | |
| Hiawatha Oak Brook Court | 6.8 miles | 18 |
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 Palo | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1926239 | The 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 460004. 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.










