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

Denison

8,302 people, 1,250 ft above sea level in Crawford County.

1,250 ftElevation, city center
8,302People, 2024 estimate
7 sq miLand area
Sunny 46°
Sunny now Dew point 28° · SSE 12 mph · high 45°
City of Denison River Interstate 2 miles
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The Denison 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 Denison

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Denison (KDNS) · 1:55 PM
Sunny
46° Sunny Feels like 41° · high of 45° near 2 PM
WindSSE 12 mphno gusts
Humidity49%falling to 49% this afternoon
Pressure30.24 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 28° · Dry42° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday90% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.06 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Crawford County
NWS Des Moines and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:15 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:10 AM5:01 PM ↓
9 h 51 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
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
45°
26°
48°
32°
52°
38°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
9
5
5
5
3
1
7
9
9
6
7
8
9
9
10
15
15
12
12
12
12
13
15
17
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 33° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 42° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
45° 26°
0% rain — S 8 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
50° 31°
0% rain — S 8 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
53° 37°
0% rain — SSW 13 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
55° 43°
0% rain — S 15, gusts 26 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 44°
20% rain — S 15, gusts 25 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
56° 42°
20% rain — NNW 3 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
61° 49°
90% rain 0.2–1.1″ SSE 13 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 Denison about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the southern Rockies three days ago, and over the southern Plains a day ago, about 830 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Rockies. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Denison stands on

Denison’s center stands about 1,250 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,150 ft to 1,420 ft, a difference of 270 ft: rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Dakata and Windrow Formations (sandstone, shale), from the Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, 94 to 113 million years old.

The section below crosses 4 rock units mapped at the surface.

Manilla to Schleswig, cut in half

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
1,200 ft1,300 ft1,400 ft1,500 ft DENISON1,250 ftHigh point of the line1,510 ftSchleswig1,470 ft ← S · ManillaSchleswig · N →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 54×. 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

Dakata and Windrow Formations

Sandstone, shale. Age: Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, 94 to 113 million years old. About 18 mi of the line.

Lower Cherokee Group and Raccoon Creek Group

Shale, sandstone, siltstone. Age: Early Pennsylvanian to Middle Pennsylvanian, 307 to 324 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Upper Cherokee Group

Shale, siltstone. Age: Middle Pennsylvanian, 307 to 315 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

Marmaton Group

Shale, limestone. Age: Middle Pennsylvanian, 307 to 315 million years old. About 0.7 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 Denison’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Denison reaches the Gulf of America by way of the East Boyer, the Boyer, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,850 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Denison≈ 1,850 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF DENISON ≈ 1,850 mi to the Gulf of America East Boyer → Boyer → 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 Denison; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Denison on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Omaha NE · 63 MI 63 miles southwest Des Moines IA · 95 MI 95 miles east Lincoln NE · 108 MI 108 miles southwest Sioux Falls SD · 126 MI 126 miles northwest
FORECASTCITY
Map of Denison, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · CRAWFORD

Denison

8,302 people, 1,250 ft above sea level in Crawford County.

1,250 ftElevation
8,302People
7 sq miLand
Sunny 46°
SunnyDew point 28°
1

Today in Denison

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 45° 0%
5p mostly clear night 40° 0%
8p mostly clear night 34° 0%
11p partly cloudy night 30° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 28° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 90%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
26
45
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
31
50
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
37
53
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
43
55
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
44
58
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
42
56
C
Fri90%
Showers likely Showers likely
49
61
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Denison stands on

Denison’s center stands about 1,250 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,150 ft to 1,420 ft, a difference of 270 ft: rolling country.

Denison, south to north Denison1,250 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 103×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,250 ft
Within 3 miles1,150 to 1,420 ft
Lie of the landRolling (270 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceDakata and Windrow Formations
Its ageEarly Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, 94 to 113 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,850 mito the Gulf of AmericaEast Boyer → Boyer → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Denison reaches the Gulf of America by way of the East Boyer, the Boyer, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,850 river miles.

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