Wales, Iowa
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Lincoln Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51533. The Survey maps it on the Wales quadrangle.
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 Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Wales quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:100000, 2 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 Wales between 2009 and 2014, burning about 7 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 | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 November 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Wales: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
24 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wales in 24 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 11 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1999 | Flash Flood | Wales | $100,000 | Heavy rain caused flash flooding of many streets and county roads in Montgomery county. Among the damage reported was a retaining wall collapsing from high water just west of Wales. An unofficial 14.5 inches of rain was measured in 2 separate 5 gallon straight sided buckets by a farmer near Wales. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Personal weather station measured wind gust of 64 mph. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Personal weather station measured wind gust of 58 mph. The wind damage occurred on the north side of a small thunderstorm complex moving through the area, where evaporative cooling of anvil precipitation likely bolstered downdraft strength. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | A 69 miles per hour wind gust was measured by a personal weather station. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Wales | - | This brief spin-up tornado damaged outbuildings at a farmstead and numerous trees in far northwestern Montgomery County. The peak winds in this tornado were estimated to be at 74 miles per hour. The peak track width and average track width for this tornado were both 60 yards. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | A personal weather station recorded a wind gust of 70 mph. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | A 59 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Emergency management reported estimated wind gusts of 70 mph. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Trained spotter estimated winds were near 60 mph. |
| April 2018 | Hail | Wales | - | Two inch diameter hail was reported north of Wales. |
| September 2018 | Hail | Wales | - | Very strong winds were also reported, but a wind speed estimate was not given. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Tree and tree limbs were blown down by 50 to 60 mph winds. |
| May 2018 | Heavy Rain | Wales | - | A total of 2.15 inches of rain fell 1 mile east of Wales. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | A telephone pole was downed 4 miles east of Glenwood along highway 320. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Wales | - | Hail up to 1 inch in diameter covered the ground. |
| May 2000 | Hail | Wales | - | Reported by the public. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Large tree limbs downed. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Wales | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Wales | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Wales | - | no account filed |
| September 2001 | Hail | Wales | - | no account filed |
| September 1999 | Hail | Wales | - | no account filed |
| September 1999 | Hail | Wales | - | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Hail | Wales | - | 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.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stennett | 7.3 miles | 9 | |
| McPherson | 7.3 miles | 9 | |
| Hawthorne | 8.0 miles | 9 | |
| Elliott | 8.9 miles | 9 | |
| Red Oak | 9.2 miles | 9 | |
| Frankfort (historical) | 11.8 miles | 9 | |
| Biddick (historical) | 13.4 miles | 9 | |
| Coburg | 14.2 miles | 8 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 465957. 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.




