Sibley, Iowa
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in West Holman Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51249. The Survey maps it on the Sibley West quadrangle. 2,860 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,516 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Sibley
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
Osceola County Courthouselisted 1981
Population over time
2 figuresSibley grew from 2,798 to 2,860 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 | 2,798 | |
| 2020 | 2,860 | +62 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 7 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.
- 1954 USGS Fairmont quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Fairmont quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Sibley West quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Iowa Great Lakes quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
22 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Sibley between 2008 and 2020, burning about 100 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 June 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | SIBLEY FIRE DEPARTMENT |
| 9 June 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | SIBLEY FIRE DEPARTMENT |
| 24 June 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 15 May 2020 | Smoking | 20 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 April 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 23 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | 40 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Sibley: 4 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estherville S and G | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Hogan Const Co | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lienen Brothers | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Peters Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Railroad | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Roskam | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 65 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sibley in 65 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 31 thunderstorm wind, 24 hail, 5 tornado, 3 flood. The reports record 14 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF4) | Sibley | 13 hurt, $3,000,000 | A tornado, moving into Osceola County from Lyon County, destroyed at least two houses, injuring two people in one of them. the tornado also destroyed several garages and severely damaged several other homes, destroyed at least 4 hog confinement buildings, several barns and silos, and numerous outbuildings. The tornado destroyed three vehicles that had been parked under an Iowa Highway 60 overpass, injuring 11 people in the vehicles, and removing the engine from one of the vehicles. The tornado damaged power lines, causing power outages, and caused damage to trees and crops. The tornado also destroyed a shelter belt and severely damaged heavy farm equipment, removing the wheels from some of the vehicles. Much of the damage occurred a short distance west to south of the town of Sibley. |
| August 1994 | Tornado (F3) | Sibley | 1 hurt, $500,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F1) | Sibley | $500,000 | no account filed |
| August 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $500,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $200,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, blew down power lines, and destroyed or damaged several large sheds and a silo on a farm. The severe winds also resulted in four calves being killed. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $200,000 | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $75,000 | Several grain bins were damaged, and large road signs were bent over on the south exit to Sibley from Iowa Highway 60. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $50,000 | A metal shed was damaged, along with numerous trees down. |
| June 2014 | Flood | Sibley | $50,000 | Persistent moderate to heavy rain caused flooding of fields and other lowlands, including several roads, homes, and businesses. This flooding lasted for almost two days, and was aggravated locally by additional storms during that time. Some roads were damaged or washed out. |
| May 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $50,000 | Numerous thunderstorms developed in the strong, moist southerly flow ahead of an approaching cold front. Many of them produced pea to marble-size hail and gusty winds of 40 to 50 MPH. One of the cells became severe and produced winds strong enough to take down power lines and one utility pole east of Akron. During the late evening hours, the thunderstorms weakened and collapsed. As the tops collapsed, high winds affected Osceola County. Trees were toppled and power lines downed. Several out buildings were toppled as well. A machine shed, on a farmstead west of May City, was picked up and hurled 100 feet from its foundation. The building was destroyed. Some minor damage was also done to the farmhouse as well. Trees and power lines were also downed on a farmstead east of Ocheyedan. A machine shed was also destroyed by high winds there. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Sibley | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $20,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down the walls of a garage under construction, blew a playground set into the back of a house, and caused shingle damage to several roofs. The winds also loosened rain gutters, blew downspouts away from a house, and caused widespread tree damage, including a few trees blown down. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $20,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down power poles, resulting in power outages. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 1994 | Hail | Sibley | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | $1,000 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Hail | Sibley | - | Quarter to half-dollar size hail fell for a brief time. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Trees were reported down in Sibley from thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Winds were measured by a personal weather station. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Wind initially hit severe levels at 1300CST with a peak wind of 83 mph recorded at 1310CST at mesonet station RSYI4 near Sibley. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts removed the roof from a small shed. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm wind gust was measured by Iowa mesonet station RSYI4 near Sibley. |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Sibley | - | Torrential rainfall of up to 3 to 5 inches in 3 hours early evening resulted in rising water around Sibley that required some homes to be evacuated and residents to be sheltered. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for areal and river flooding for Osceola County. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts up to 59 mph were measured by the Iowa Road Weather Information System site RSYI4 near Sibley. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees in Sibley and caused power outages. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | A thunderstorm wind gust of 82 mph was measured by Iowa Road Weather Information System site RSYI4 3 miles northeast of Sibley. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Law enforcement reported wrist sized and larger tree limbs down. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Six to eight inch diameter tree branches were broken by thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| August 2017 | Tornado (EF1) | Sibley | - | The EF-1 tornado was responsible for mainly crop damage, as well as tress in and along shelter belts. The tornado dissipated shortly after crossing into Osceola county from Nobles county in southwest Minnesota. |
| August 2017 | Hail | Sibley | - | Reported by the Emergency Manager. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Sibley | - | Flooding of lowlands, including some farmland, continued in the county through most of April, though flooding generally abated slowly. A few roads remained flooded. High water and groundwater levels resulting from record precipitation in the previous year was the main reason that the flooding either grew worse or improved so slowly. |
| March 2011 | Flood | Sibley | - | Melting of a heavy winter snow cover caused flooding of lowlands, lakes, and streams. There was considerable flooding of farmland. Several roads in the county were flooded. Some of the roads were closed, and a few were washed out in spots. The flooding onset was rapid for a snow melt flood due to high water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010. |
| July 2010 | Flash Flood | Sibley | - | Heavy rain caused flash flooding of numerous roads and basements. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm winds damaged crops and blew down branches. The amount of crop or tree damage was not known. |
| September 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous two to three inch diameter branches blown down. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including blowing down a large limb across a road. The limb could not be moved by a deputy. |
| July 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Sibley | - | A brief tornado caused no reported damage. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| September 2008 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Sibley | - | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Sibley | - | 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.
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 Sibley | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1913425 | 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 461598. 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.



