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Shaded-relief map of Carbon, Iowa: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
IOWA · ADAMS COUNTY

Carbon

32 people, 1,110 ft above sea level in Adams County.

1,110 ftElevation, city center
32People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Sunny 46°
Sunny now Dew point 27° · SSE 7 mph · high 44°
City of Carbon River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Carbon plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Carbon

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Creston Municipal Airport (KCSQ) · 1:55 PM
Sunny
46° Sunny Feels like 43° · high of 44° near 2 PM
WindSSE 7 mphno gusts
Humidity46%falling to 51% this afternoon
Pressure30.25 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 27° · Dry39° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday70% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 60.02 in · 8 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Adams County
NWS Des Moines and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:15 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:05 AM5:01 PM ↓
9 h 56 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
20
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: 44, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
mostly sunny
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
mostly sunny
clear day
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
44°
26°
47°
30°
51°
37°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
8
6
6
5
5
3
6
8
8
6
6
7
7
8
9
12
13
9
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10
10
12
16
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 24 to 39° More humid: 39° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 49° / 27°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
44° 27°
0% rain — SSE 8 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
49° 30°
0% rain — SSE 7 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
52° 37°
0% rain — S 11 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
55° 43°
0% rain — S 13 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 48°
20% rain — S 16, gusts 29 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
59° 47°
10% rain — W 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
62° 52°
70% rain 0.05–0.7″ SSE 14, gusts 25 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Carbon about 5,000 feet above the ground was over Texas three days ago, and over the southern Plains a day ago, about 820 miles back along its path. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Rockies. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1927 Nov. 11, 1927

The hottest this week has been

81° on Nov. 11, 1927, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 81° in 1999.

81°
81°
19991927
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Corning record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Carbon stands on

Carbon’s center stands about 1,110 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,070 ft to 1,280 ft, a difference of 210 ft: rolling country.

The section below crosses 3 rock units mapped at the surface.

Carbon, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,100 ft1,200 ft1,300 ft CARBON1,110 ftEast Nodaway Riverabout 1,040 ftHigh point of the line1,350 ft ← SWNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 61×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Shawnee Group

Limestone, shale. Age: Late Pennsylvanian, 299 to 307 million years old. About 9 mi of the line.

Wabaunsee Group

Shale, mudstone. Age: Late Pennsylvanian, 299 to 307 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Dakata and Windrow Formations

Sandstone, shale. Age: Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, 94 to 113 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Carbon’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Carbon reaches the Gulf of America by way of Bull Creek, the Middle Nodaway, the West Nodaway, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,720 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Carbon≈ 1,720 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF CARBON ≈ 1,720 mi to the Gulf of America Bull Creek → Middle Nodaway → West Nodaway → Missouri → Mississippi

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Carbon; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Carbon’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Corning, 6 mi southeast

Carbon has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 12° in January. A normal year brings about 28 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 35 inches of water.

31°12°37°16°49°26°61°36°71°49°81°59°85°64°83°61°76°52°64°40°49°27°36°18° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY CARBON 35.3 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average85° / 64°high / low, the warmest month
January, average31° / 12°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow35.3 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year27.8 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record115°FJuly 25, 1936
Coldest on record−32°FJanuary 12, 1974
Wettest day on record8.02 inAugust 27, 1903
Snowiest day on record15.0 inDecember 9, 2009
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Highs below freezingDec. 30 to Jan. 31; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezingNov. 3 to April 4; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretchMay through July: 14.3 of the year’s 35.3 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Carbon normally reaches 49° and falls to 28°. The record high is 81°, in 1999; the record low −4°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 0.98 in, fell in 1972.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high31°37°49°61°71°81°85°83°76°64°49°36°
Normal low12°16°26°36°49°59°64°61°52°40°27°18°
Rain and melt, in0.841.202.083.445.155.164.003.823.502.801.861.43
Snow, inches8.26.23.31.20.00.00.00.00.00.41.66.9
Record high68° (1981)79° (1930)92° (2026)93° (1910)103° (1934)106° (1936)115° (1936)112° (1936)104° (1939)94° (2024)82° (1968)70° (1946)
Record low−32° (1974)−32° (1905)−22° (1948)3° (1975)21° (1908)34° (1915)42° (1972)34° (1915)20° (1984)−3° (1925)−14° (1964)−32° (1924)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Corning, 5 miles southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Carbon on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Omaha NE · 66 MI 66 miles west Des Moines IA · 73 MI 73 miles northeast Lincoln NE · 98 MI 98 miles west Kansas City MO · 134 MI 134 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Carbon, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · ADAMS

Carbon

32 people, 1,110 ft above sea level in Adams County.

1,110 ftElevation
32People
1 sq miLand
Sunny 46°
SunnyDew point 27°
1

Today in Carbon

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 44° 0%
5p clear night 39° 0%
8p clear night 33° 0%
11p mostly clear night 30° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 28° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 26° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 70%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
27
44
A
Sun0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
30
49
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
37
52
B
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
43
55
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
48
58
B
Thu10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
47
59
C
Fri70%
Showers likely Showers likely
52
62
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1927 · NOV. 11, 1927

81°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Carbon stands on

Carbon’s center stands about 1,110 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,070 ft to 1,280 ft, a difference of 210 ft: rolling country.

Carbon, southwest to northeast Carbon1,110 ftEast Nodaway Riverabout 1,040 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 116×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,110 ft
Within 3 miles1,070 to 1,280 ft
Lie of the landRolling (210 ft of relief)
5

Carbon’s year

Carbon has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 12° in January. A normal year brings about 28 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 35 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 35.3 in
July, average85° / 64° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average31° / 12° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow35.3 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year27.8 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record115°F · July 25, 1936
Coldest on record−32°F · January 12, 1974
Wettest day on record8.02 in · August 27, 1903
Snowiest day on record15.0 in · December 9, 2009
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Highs below freezing · Dec. 30 to Jan. 31; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezing · Nov. 3 to April 4; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretch · May through July: 14.3 of the year’s 35.3 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Carbon normally reaches 49° and falls to 28°. The record high is 81°, in 1999; the record low −4°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 0.98 in, fell in 1972.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Corning, 5 miles southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,720 mito the Gulf of AmericaBull Creek → Middle Nodaway → West Nodaway → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Carbon reaches the Gulf of America by way of Bull Creek, the Middle Nodaway, the West Nodaway, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,720 river miles.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.