BlockBefore

Swisher, Iowa

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Jefferson Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52338. The Survey maps it on the Swisher quadrangle. 914 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 791 feet above sea level.

Swisher within Johnson County

Population over time

2 figures

Swisher grew from 879 to 914 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
2010879
2020914+35 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 14 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

67 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 67 fires within 5 miles of Swisher between 2006 and 2020, burning about 243 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined33
Debris and open burning26
Equipment and vehicle use5
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1

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
5 September 2012Naturalunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
12 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 August 2016Debris and open burning2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesJEFFERSON-MONROE FD
9 July 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Johnson County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Swisher: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Wagner PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Crozier QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
W.J. Turecek QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Wray QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Johnson County

Storms near this place

34 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Swisher in 34 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 13 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 5 flash flood, 1 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
June 1994HailSwisher1 hurt, $5,000no account filed
August 2016Flash FloodSwisher$1,500,000The Emergency Manager reported that the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railroad (CRANDIC) experienced washed out tracks and a bridge in the Swisher area.
June 2007LightningSwisher$500,000Lightning struck a home just east of the Swisher exit off I-380, setting a fire in the rafters that destroyed the house.
April 2013Flash FloodSwisher$250,000Several rounds of heavy rain fell across Johnson County resulting in flash flooding of much of the county from the mid morning of April 17 through the early morning of April 18.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindSwisher$5,000Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph caused a power outage in Swisher, IA at 859 pm July 7.
June 1994HailSwisher$5,000no account filed
May 2005Thunderstorm WindSwisher$4,000Large sliding doors blown in with a utility pole down.
April 2006HailSwisher$3,000golfball size hail
April 2006HailSwisher$2,000Report is from Co-op observer located 1.9 miles southeast of Walford on the Linn/Johnson line; walnut size hail.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindSwisher$2,000Sheriff department reported trees down near the intersection of Plotz Road NW & Falcon Avenue NW.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindSwisher$500Report is from Co-op observer located 1.9 miles southeast of Walford on the Linn/Johnson line; tree branches down. The KCID ASOS (located about 5 miles east northeast) reported a 49 knot wind gust at 1919 CST.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSwisher-A trained spotter reported an estimated thunderstorm wind gust of 70 MPH.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindSwisher-Several trees downed in town.
May 2019Flash FloodSwisher-Flash flooding over Division Street/ 120th St in Swisher.
August 2016Flash FloodSwisher-The public reported that local streams were swollen and that was washed acrossed roads. They also reported that water was in the basements of two homes.
August 2016Flash FloodSwisher-A public report of swollen streams and gravel washed arcross roadways. Water was in the basement of two homes. A CoCoRAHS member, in Swisher, reported 6.88 inches of rain during the event.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindSwisher-Large tree branches of 15 inches in diameter blown down.
June 2014FloodSwisher-Heavy rains during the second half of June resulted in the Cedar River at Cedar Rapids going above the major flood stage level of 16 feet on June 24 around 1245 am CDT. It crested around 17.34 feet around 1215 am June 25. It fell below the major flood stage level around 9 pm CDT June 25.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindSwisher-A trained spotter measured 60 mph winds.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindSwisher-The public reported a 60 mph wind gust near Swisher.
April 2011HailSwisher-Golf ball sized hail fell in Swisher, IA at 640 pm CDT April 3.
April 2011HailSwisher-Golf ball sized hail fell 1 mile east of Swisher, IA at 647 pm CDT April 3.
April 2011HailSwisher-Two inch diameter hail fell 1 mile southwest of Swisher, IA at 651 pm CDT April 3.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindSwisher-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some 6 to 7 inch diameter branches in Swisher, IA at 930 am CDT May 29.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindSwisher-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some tree limbs in Swisher, IA at 932 am CDT May 29. The fallen limbs blocked some roads.
July 2009HailSwisher-Quarter-sized hail fell about 4 miles west of Swisher, IA around 1113 pm July 10. This report was relayed by KCRG TV.
May 2004HailSwisher-Reported by KCRG TV
May 2002Thunderstorm WindSwisher-Tree limbs down.
April 2001Tornado (F0)Swisher-An F0 tornado touched down briefly in Swisher. Emergency management reported no major damage, and there were no injuries.
May 2001Funnel CloudSwisher-Reported by law enforcement.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindSwisher-58 mph thunderstorm gust reported by NWS Cooperative Observer.
July 2007HailSwisher-no account filed
July 2007HailSwisher-no account filed
May 2003HailSwisher-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Johnson 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
Cou Falls2.2 miles14
Shueyville2.5 miles14
Curtis (historical)3.7 miles14
Green Castle (historical)5.1 miles14
Twin View Heights6.8 miles16
North Liberty8.3 miles19
Tiffin9.8 miles17
Oxford9.9 miles12

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 SwisherAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2247686The 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 462157. 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.