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Prairie City, Iowa

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Des Moines Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50228. The Survey maps it on the Prairie City quadrangle. 1,700 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 928 feet above sea level.

Prairie City within Jasper County

On record in Prairie City

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Prairie City grew from 1,680 to 1,700 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
20101,680
20201,700+20 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 8 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

15 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Prairie City between 1992 and 2017, burning about 107 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 4 were 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
Arson/incendiarism4
Smoking2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Natural1
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
18 May 2017Naturalunder an acreNeal Smith National Wildlife RefugeBALE FIRE
4 April 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNeal Smith National Wildlife Refuge102/119
27 March 1992Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresNeal Smith National Wildlife RefugeCONSERV1
26 March 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNeal Smith National Wildlife RefugeDOGLEGBRIDGE
26 March 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNeal Smith National Wildlife RefugeBISONROADEAST
26 March 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNeal Smith National Wildlife RefugeBISONROADWEST
26 March 1992Arson/incendiarism70 acresNeal Smith National Wildlife RefugeSWITCH1
23 March 1992Arson/incendiarism10 acresNeal Smith National Wildlife RefugeREEDCAN1

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jasper County

Storms near this place

60 of 65 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Prairie City in 65 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 30 thunderstorm wind, 23 hail, 7 heavy rain, 5 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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
April 1999Tornado (F2)Prairie City1 hurt, $1,000,000broken track
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$125,000Trained spotter reported widespread power lines and trees down and property damage in Prairie City. Estimated wind gusts of 65 to 70 mph and hail up to 1 inch in diameter. Time estimated from radar.
June 2008Tornado (EF1)Prairie City$75,000Twelve outbuildings sustained damage with significant damage to trees.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$60,000Law Enforcement reported two roofs off of buildings near Casey's General Store.
April 1995HailPrairie City$40,000no account filed
July 2010Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$35,000Report of wind damage to a farm with several trees and power poles down, and an out building damaged.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$30,000no account filed
May 2024Tornado (EF0)Prairie City$25,000Numerous posts on social media regarding damage on the east side of Prairie City. A very brief tornado occurred here with damage mostly to trees although a few garages sustained minor damage. The tornado lifted shortly after leaving town.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$20,000A two foot diameter tree was down on a house and a car.
May 2000HailPrairie City$20,000no account filed
May 2000HailPrairie City$20,000no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$15,000Several tree limbs 1 foot in diameter down on South Street between South Monroe and South Main Street.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$10,000Numerous trees and tree limbs down with power out.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$10,000no account filed
April 2006Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$10,000no account filed
June 2006HailPrairie City$10,000no account filed
July 2003HailPrairie City$10,000no account filed
July 2003HailPrairie City$10,000no account filed
July 2003HailPrairie City$10,000no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$10,000no account filed
March 2025Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$7,000Barn missing roof. Delayed report, time estimated by radar.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$5,000Several tree branches 6 inches in diameter down. Two food diameter tree downed.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$5,000no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$5,000no account filed
July 2003HailPrairie City$5,000no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$5,000no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$5,000no account filed
May 2000HailPrairie City$5,000no account filed
August 2009Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$3,000High winds and small hail reported.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$3,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$3,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$3,000no account filed
July 2003HailPrairie City$3,000no account filed
July 2003HailPrairie City$3,000no account filed
May 2001HailPrairie City$3,000no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$3,000no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindPrairie City$2,000no account filed
March 2025Thunderstorm WindPrairie City-From Neal Smith RAWS station. Time estimated from radar.
April 2025HailPrairie City-Report via social media.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPrairie City-Inch and a quarter sized hail, along with 1-2 foot diameter trees toppled on garages and homes.
May 2024HailPrairie City-Ping pong hail briefly fell, followed by winds. Time of occurrence was estimated from radar.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPrairie City-Public reported estimated 60 mph wind gusts and tree branches down.
July 2024HailPrairie City-Time estimated via radar.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPrairie City-Powerlines and trees down, along with flipped campers. Time of occurrence estimated with radar.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindPrairie City-Mesonet station reported a 74 knot wind gust.
August 2019Heavy RainPrairie City-Mesonet station recorded heavy rainfall of 2.49 inches. Beginning time estimated from radar.
May 2018Tornado (EF0)Prairie City-Tornado had short path through an agricultural field and nearby wooded area producing damage to trees.
June 2018Heavy RainPrairie City-Prairies City AWOS recorded heavy rainfall of 2.74 inches over the last 24 hours.
July 2018Tornado (EF0)Prairie City-Tornado developed southeast of Prairie City and tracked to the southeast. Remained in rural areas producing crop and tree damage before dissipating.
April 2017HailPrairie City-Trained spotter reported pea to quarter sized hail ongoing at the time of report.
July 2016Heavy RainPrairie City-Mesonet station recorded heavy rainfall of 2.01 inches.
July 2015Heavy RainPrairie City-Trained spotter reported heavy rainfall of 4.00 inches.
August 2015Heavy RainPrairie City-Public reported heavy rainfall of 4.00 inches.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindPrairie City-Mesonet site measured 52 knot gusts near Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge.
April 2012Heavy RainPrairie City-Rainfall of 2.21 inches in 24 hours.
October 2012Heavy RainPrairie City-Twenty four hour rainfall from Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge. Total was 3.13 inches.
June 2008HailPrairie City-Winds gusted to 45 MPH also.
March 2025HailPrairie City-no account filed
July 2024HailPrairie City-no account filed
December 2021Thunderstorm WindPrairie City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jasper 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
Severs3.8 miles8
Prairiebell4.1 miles11
Colfax5.4 miles8
Vandalia5.6 miles11
Metz7.0 miles8
Oswalt7.4 miles11
Goddard8.4 miles8
Monroe8.9 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 Prairie CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1927592The 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 460389. 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.

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.