BlockSutherland, Iowa
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Waterman Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51058. The Survey maps it on the Sutherland East quadrangle. 629 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,427 feet above sea level.
Research this city
Population over time
2 figuresSutherland fell from 649 to 629 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 | 649 | |
| 2020 | 629 | -20 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 9 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 Fort Dodge quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Fort Dodge quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Fort Dodge quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Sutherland East quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Storm Lake quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
2 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Sutherland between 2009 and 2015, burning about 50 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/undetermined | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 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 20 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Sutherland: 19 past producers, 1 producer. 1 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audrie | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Brown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Dieterman Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Engelke Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Frank Steel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Lange Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Litka Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Martin Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Mccormick | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Steele Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 74 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sutherland in 74 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 34 flood, 25 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | $30,000 | Thunderstorm winds snapped several large trees and limbs, which fell and destroyed the roof of a machine shed. Property damage costs are a rough estimate. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds destroyed two grain bins and caused tree damage. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Sutherland | - | An extended period of hail fell with hail up to 2 inches in diameter from 1740 to 1750 CST. Hail was still falling at dime to nickel size as of 1809 CST. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Sutherland | - | A few 2 inch hailstones fell on the north edge of Sutherland. |
| July 2024 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Flooding continued from June on the Little Sioux River at Cherokee, with declining river levels. The river fell below flood stage on the afternoon of July 7th. |
| May 2024 | Flood | Sutherland | - | The Little Sioux River at Cherokee rose above flood stage the morning of May 22nd, cresting around 1.38 feet above flood stage (18.38 feet) on May 22nd. The river then fell below flood stage on the morning of May 28th. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Part of the roof of the new car wash in Sutherland was ripped off by thunderstorm winds. Several homes also had large tree branches land on the roof. |
| May 2024 | Flood | Sutherland | - | The Little Sioux River near Cherokee rose above flood stage the evening of May 2nd, cresting around 3.98 feet above flood stage (20.98 feet) on May 10th. The river then fell below flood stage on the afternoon of May 15th. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Sutherland | - | The Little Sioux River at Cherokee rose above flood stage the morning of June 21st, cresting around 16.47 feet above flood stage (33.47 feet) on June 24th. The crest value was determined using a high water mark due to a river gauge outage. This crest is in the Major Stage and broke the previous record. The river stayed above flood stage into July. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for O'Brien County. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Sutherland | - | The Little Sioux River at Linn Grove rose above flood stage the morning of June 21st, cresting around 11.97 feet above flood stage (29.97 feet) on June 23rd. This crest is in the Major Stage and broke the previous record. The river stayed above flood stage into July. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for O'Brien County. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Waterman Creek near Sutherland rose above flood stage the morning of June 21st, cresting around 6.97 feet above flood stage (1241.97 feet) on June 22nd. This crest is in the Major Stage. The creek stayed above flood stage into July. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for O'Brien County. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Sutherland | - | Hailstones as large as golf balls caused minor leaf damage to trees. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorms winds snapped a 150 foot tree in Sutherland - at the time the largest tree in O'Brien County. Limbs which fell on powerlines resulted in up to 5 hours without power. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorm winds downed severe large diameter tree limbs. |
| June 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | A continuation of flooding from May, the Little Sioux River at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) began the month at 1.50 feet above flood stage. Significant amounts of agricultural land remained flooded, and further impeded spring planting. |
| June 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | A continuation of flooding from May, the Little Sioux River at Cherokee (gage site CHKI4) began the month at 3.70 feet above flood stage. Significant amounts of agricultural land remained flooded, and further impeded spring planting. |
| May 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | This is a continuation of flooding from April. The Little Sioux River at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) hovered near flood stage with an early month crest at 0.24 feet above flood stage on May 12, before falling below flood stage on May 16. Late month rains pushed the river back over flood stage on May 24, reaching a crest in moderate flood stage of 1.63 feet above flood stage on May 31. Significant agricultural flooding persisted, with no opportunity for spring planting throughout the flood plain. The river remained at moderate flood stage at the end of the month. |
| May 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | The Little Sioux River at Cherokee (gage site CHKI4) reached a peak of 3.52 feet above flood stage at the end of the month. The main impact was inundation of agricultural land, which further delayed spring planting. Minor flooding continued at the end of the month. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 2.48 inches at Primghar) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural lands. Waterman Creek near Sutherland (gage site SWCI4) reached the second highest stage on record cresting 4.83 feet above flood stage on March 14. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 1.27 inches at Spencer and 1.04 inches 4 miles east of Sioux Rapids) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural land. The Little Sioux River at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) reached the highest stage on record for the fourth time in nine months, cresting 6.13 feet above flood stage on March 16. The river remained in minor flood stage at the end of the month. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 1.67 inches at Cherokee) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural lands and numerous state, county and township roads. The Little Sioux River at Cherokee (gage site CHKI4) reached the highest stage on record cresting 11.40 feet above flood stage on March 14. |
| April 2019 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Runoff from occasional precipitation in early April returned significant flooding of agricultural lands. The Little Sioux River at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) crested twice during the period. The first crest was 0.77 feet above flood stage on April 14. After a brief period below flood stage from April 23-29, a second crest occurred on April 30 at 0.17 feet above flood stage. The river remained in minor flood stage at the end of the month. |
| March 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Snow melt runoff on top of already high river levels produced minor flooding of lowland agricultural areas along middle portions of the Little Sioux River. River levels reached 0.4 feet above flood stage near Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) by the end of the month. |
| April 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | A continuation of flooding from March 2018, the river crested at minor flood level at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) 0.6 feet above flood stage on April 1. |
| April 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Flooding returned to the Little Sioux River in mid-April, and was generally minor with impacts limited to near river agricultural areas. Periodic rain and snow brought 1 to 3 inches of liquid equivalent in the week prior to a return to flood stage at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) on April 17. The river crested in moderate flood stage (1.5 feet above flood stage) on April 26, inundating a large amount of pasture and crop land along the flood plain as well as the city park in Sioux Rapids. The river remained in moderate flood stage at the end of the month. |
| April 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Upstream runoff of snow melt and rainfall brought flooding to the lower portions of the Little Sioux River in late April. The flooding near Cherokee (gage site CHKI4) was minor with impacts limited to near river agricultural areas. The river crested in minor flood stage (0.7 feet above flood stage) on April 28. |
| July 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Minor flooding of crop and pasture land occurred near Sutherland as river levels on Waterman Creek climbed to 0.6 foot above flood stage near Sutherland (gage site SWCI4) on July 1. |
| March 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Runoff from snow melt along with periods of rainfall through mid March caused minor flooding of lowland agricultural areas along portions of the Little Sioux River. The river reached a crest of 0.9 feet above flood stage near Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) on March 20. |
| May 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Minor flooding of the Little Sioux River continued from April, impacting near-river agricultural areas. However, rainfall was relentless over the first two weeks of May, totaling a widespread 3 to 5 inches in the upper Little Sioux Basin, including 5.01 inches at Lake Park, 4.85 inches 4 miles northwest of Milford, 4.69 inches in Spirit Lake, 3.95 inches near Everly and 3.20 inches at Spencer. There were multiple crests at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) during the following three weeks, with the highest crest reaching moderate flooding (1.7 feet above flood stage) on May 15, inundating a large amount of pasture and crop land along the flood plain as well as the city park in Sioux Rapids. The river dropped below flood stage on May 26. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Rainfall throughout the Little Sioux Basin during the period of September 18-21 totaled generally 4 to 8 inches, resulting in major flooding. 470th Street as well as significant crop and pasture land was inundated as Waterman Creek near Sutherland (gage site SWCI4) crested at 7.2 feet above flood stage on September 20. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Rainfall throughout the Little Sioux Basin during the period of September 18-21 totaled generally 4 to 8 inches, resulting in record flooding. Significant crop and pasture land was flooded, and city and county parks along the reach of the river were severely inundated. The Little Sioux River at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) crested at 5.9 feet above flood stage on September 22, the second record crest of the year. The river remained in minor flood at the end of the month. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Rainfall throughout the Little Sioux Basin during the period of September 18-21 totaled generally 4 to 8 inches, resulting in major flooding. Numerous roads accessing Cherokee were closed due to flooding, including U.S. Highway 59, old highway 5, east Main Street, and county roads C-38 and C-44. Many businesses in the south and southeast portions of Cherokee were flooded. The Little Sioux River at Cherokee (gage site CHKI4) crested at 10.0 feet above flood stage on September 21. The river remained in minor flood at the end of the month. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Minor flooding of low-lying crop and pasture land occurred at river levels crested at 0.3 feet above flood stage on Waterman Creek near Sutherland (gage site SWCI4) on October 10. |
| August 2018 | Hail | Sutherland | - | Hail from golf ball to tennis ball size shredded siding on house and knocked out car windows. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Minor flooding of agricultural land occurred as well as inundation of the city park in Sioux Rapids as the Little Sioux River at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) crested 1.0 feet above flood stage on October 14. |
| June 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | A week of prolific rainfall ending June 26 resulted in a widespread 5 to 9 inches of rainfall, much of which occurred on June 20 and 24. Specific weekly totals included 4.03 at Spencer, 6.70 near Everly, 7.87 at Lake Park, 8.60 3 miles south southeast of Lake Park and 10.65 4 miles northwest of Milford. Major flooding occurred with significant amounts of crop and pasture land inundated, as well as the city park in Spencer. Several roads in Spencer were under water including U.S. Highway 18/71 near the river and West Park, 1st and 2nd St., as well as Highway 18 between Dickens and Spencer as the river crested at Spencer (gage site SPWI4) at 7.4 feet above flood stage on June 26. The river remained in moderate flood stage at the end of the month. |
| June 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | A week of prolific rainfall ending June 26 resulted in a widespread 4 to 7 inches of rainfall, much of which occurred on June 20 and 24. Specific weekly totals included 3.65 4 miles east of Sioux Rapids, 4.03 at Spencer and 6.70 near Everly. Record flooding occurred with significant amounts of crop and pasture land inundated, as well as the city park in Sioux Rapids as the river crested at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) at 5.4 feet above flood stage on June 27. The river remained in major flood stage at the end of the month. |
| May 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Rainfall was relentless over the first two weeks of May, totaling a widespread 3 to 5 inches in the upper and middle portions of the Little Sioux Basin, including 5.01 inches at Lake Park, 4.85 inches 4 miles northwest of Milford, 4.69 inches in Spirit Lake, 3.95 inches near Everly, 3.48 inches at Cherokee and 3.20 inches at Spencer. Minor flooding of generally agricultural lands occurred as the river crested at Cherokee (gage site CHKI4) 0.8 feet above flood stage on May 17. The river dropped below flood stage on May 18. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | A continuation of flooding from September, river levels on the Little Sioux River at Linn Grove (gage site LNNI4) continued to fall in early October. Impacts were limited to minor agricultural flooding. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Sutherland | - | A continuation of flooding from September, river levels on the Little Sioux River at Cherokee (gage site CHKI4) continued to fall in early October. Impacts were limited to minor agricultural flooding. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including large trees blown down. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous branches and limbs blown down. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Heavy rain caused continued minor flooding along the Little Sioux River. |
| May 2007 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Heavy rain caused minor to moderate flooding along the Little Sioux River where it runs across the far southeastern corner of Obrien County.| |
| March 2007 | Flood | Sutherland | - | Warm temperatures caused a rapid snowmelt which caused the Little Sioux River to rise above flood stage for several days, where the river crosses the extreme southeast corner of the county. The flooding vwas light to moderate, and no significant damage was reported. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Sutherland | - | Heavy rain caused flash flooding of several county roads. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Sutherland | - | Large hail caused damage to vehicles. The amount of damage was not known. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorm winds caused extensive tree damage. |
| September 2004 | Flash Flood | Sutherland | - | Heavy rain caused flooding of roads, and of a small stream that feeds into the Waterman river just east of Sutherland. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down tree branches, and at least one power line. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Sutherland | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Sutherland | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Sutherland | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Sutherland | - | no account filed |
| July 2017 | Hail | Sutherland | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Sutherland | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Sutherland | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutherland | - | 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 Sutherland | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2239947 | 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 462123. 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.