BlockBefore

Parkersburg, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Albion Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50665. The Survey maps it on the Parkersburg quadrangle. 2,015 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 971 feet above sea level.

Parkersburg within Butler County

On record in Parkersburg

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Parkersburg grew from 1,870 to 2,015 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
20101,870
20202,015+145 (+8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 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

12 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Parkersburg between 2006 and 2020, burning about 146 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/undetermined6
Debris and open burning4
Equipment and vehicle use2

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
7 May 2014Debris and open burning5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 April 2013Debris and open burning10 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 April 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 April 2013Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined40 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 February 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 December 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Butler 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 Parkersburg: 2 past producers, 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
Limburg PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Butler County

Storms near this place

48 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Parkersburg in 48 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 15 heavy rain, 14 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 6 flood. The reports record 2 deaths. 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
May 2013FloodParkersburg1 killed, $500,000Beaver Creek out of its banks and flooding about a mile long section of Iowa Highway 57 west of Parkersburg. Iowa DOT has already closed that section of the highway with water reaching several houses.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindParkersburg1 killed, $60,000Coop observer reported very high winds estimated at over 70 mph. Power reported out in Parkersburg, semi overturned on Highway 57 resulting in one fatality, and numerous tree limbs down on roads. A 3 foot diameter tree also downed in Parkersburg.
June 2013FloodParkersburg$1,000,000About 1500 to 2000 feet of railroad tracks were washed out near Parkersburg. Several houses on the west side of town have at least a foot of water in them.
July 1999Flash FloodParkersburg$350,000no account filed
June 1997Flash FloodParkersburg$200,000no account filed
June 2002HailParkersburg$75,000no account filed
June 2014Thunderstorm WindParkersburg$50,000Several large tree limbs down throughout Parkersburg.
May 1998HailParkersburg$25,000no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindParkersburg$20,000no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindParkersburg$15,000Several reports of trees down around town. Largest was 14 inches in diameter blocking the highway north of town.
April 2001HailParkersburg$15,000no account filed
September 2019Thunderstorm WindParkersburg$10,000Law enforcement reported several large tree limbs down throughout Parkersburg, as well as a couple trees reported to have fallen on homes. Time estimated from radar.
April 2008FloodParkersburg$10,000Water was reported over the road in Parkersburg.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindParkersburg$10,000no account filed
June 2002HailParkersburg$10,000no account filed
April 2014HailParkersburg$5,000no account filed
May 2008HailParkersburg$5,000no account filed
June 1999FloodParkersburg$5,000no account filed
November 2016Tornado (EF0)Parkersburg$3,000Tornado continued from Grundy County. The weak circulation moved northeast into Butler County and affected a small neighborhood on the east side of Parkersburg. Only weak damage occurred in the form of shingle damage to houses in the vicinity. Video of the tornado shows a diffuse circulation.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindParkersburg$3,000no account filed
May 2001HailParkersburg$3,000no account filed
May 1999HailParkersburg$1,000no account filed
May 2024FloodParkersburg-Iowa DOT reports IA 57 east bound at IA 14 closed due to water over the road.
May 2024Heavy RainParkersburg-Mesonet FW8037 station reported 24 hr heavy rainfall of 3.57 inches.
May 2024FloodParkersburg-Sandbagging is in progress.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindParkersburg-Broadcast media, KWWL, reported 6 to 8 inch diameter trees down and other items blowing down the street.
August 2018Heavy RainParkersburg-Public reported heavy rainfall of 3.77 inches from the multiple rounds of storms.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindParkersburg-Amateur radio reported wind gusts to 70 mph.
June 2017HailParkersburg-Coop observer reported half dollar sized hail. This is a delayed report. Time estimated by radar.
June 2017HailParkersburg-Trained spotter reported quarter sized hail.
June 2017HailParkersburg-Emergency manager reported half dollar sized hail.
September 2016Heavy RainParkersburg-Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 3.15 inches, over a duration of 36 hours.
August 2016Heavy RainParkersburg-Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 3.02 inches over the last 24 hours.
August 2015Heavy RainParkersburg-Public reported heavy rainfall of 5.40 inches event total with light rain ongoing.
August 2015Heavy RainParkersburg-Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 3.32 inches over the last 24 hours in Parkersburg.
August 2015Heavy RainParkersburg-Public reported heavy rainfall of 4.50 inches event total so far.
December 2015Heavy RainParkersburg-Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 3.65 inches over the last 48 hours/storm total so far.
April 2014Heavy RainParkersburg-Storm total rainfall for the two days was 2.98 inches.
June 2014Heavy RainParkersburg-Rainfall of 3.98 inches since 7:00pm CDT (6:00pm CST).
August 2014Tornado (EF0)Parkersburg-Track meandered to the northeast with only crop damage noted. This tornado likely merged with another tornado before dissipating. Tornado was found and rated using high resolution satellite imagery.
July 2013Heavy RainParkersburg-Rainfall total of 2.5 inches in the past several hours.
June 2013Heavy RainParkersburg-Rainfall of 4.64 inches of rain since 0900 CST.
April 2013Heavy RainParkersburg-Rainfall of 1.64 inches in the past 24 hours.
June 2013Heavy RainParkersburg-Rainfall total for the 24 hours ending at 0800 CST was 5.34 inches.
May 2013Heavy RainParkersburg-Twenty four hour rainfall total of 2.78 inches.
April 2014HailParkersburg-no account filed
May 2012HailParkersburg-no account filed
June 2002HailParkersburg-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Butler 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
Eleanor4.2 miles9
Aplington5.2 miles9
New Albion5.4 miles9
Coster7.6 miles9
Butler Center8.3 miles9
New Hartford8.8 miles9
Kesley8.8 miles10
Austinville9.0 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 ParkersburgAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q965095The 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 460029. 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.