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

Garrison

345 people, 890 ft above sea level in Benton County.

890 ftElevation, city center
345People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 44°
Sunny now Dew point 26° · N 3 mph · high 44°
City of Garrison River Interstate 2 miles
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The Garrison 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 Garrison

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Cedar Rapids Airport (KCID) · 1:52 PM
Sunny
44° Sunny Feels like 43° · high of 44° near 2 PM
WindN 3 mphno gusts
Humidity49%falling to 47% this afternoon
Pressure30.28 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 26° · Dry38° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday50% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 110.28 in · 3 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Benton County
NWS Quad Cities and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:15 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:57 AM4:48 PM ↓
9 h 50 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
33
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: 53, moderate. 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
clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
fog
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
44°
25°
47°
27°
51°
34°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
2
3
3
5
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10
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8
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12
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 22 to 38° More humid: 38° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 47° / 28°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
44° 24°
0% rain — WNW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
49° 26°
0% rain — S 1 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
53° 33°
0% rain — SSW 8 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
55° 38°
0% rain — SSE 10 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 47°
20% rain — S 14 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
60° 43°
20% rain — WSW 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
60° 50°
50% rain up to 0.3″ SE 10 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 Garrison about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Canadian Prairies three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 1,250 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1999 Nov. 13, 1999

The hottest this week has been

76° on Nov. 13, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 75° in 1941.

75°
76°
19411999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Vinton record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Garrison stands on

Garrison’s center stands about 890 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 820 ft to 1,000 ft, a difference of 180 ft: gently rolling country.

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

Garrison, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
800 ft900 ft1,000 ft GARRISON890 ftLow point790 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. 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

Cedar Valley Group

Limestone, dolostone. Age: Middle Devonian to Late Devonian, 374 to 388 million years old. About 13 mi of the line.

Lime Creek Formation

Shale, limestone, dolostone. Age: Late Devonian, 374 to 384 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Wapsipinicon Group

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Middle Devonian, 384 to 394 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

LaPorte City Formation

Limestone. Age: Silurian, 431 to 440 million years old. About 0.4 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 Garrison’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Garrison reaches the Gulf of America by way of Hinkle Creek, the Cedar River, the Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,570 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Garrison≈ 1,570 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF GARRISON ≈ 1,570 mi to the Gulf of America Hinkle Creek → Cedar River → Iowa → Mississippi

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Garrison’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Vinton, 7 mi east

Garrison has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 8° in January. A normal year brings about 34 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

26°8°31°12°44°24°59°35°69°47°78°57°82°60°79°58°73°50°60°37°44°25°31°15° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY GARRISON 37.9 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average82° / 60°high / low, the warmest month
January, average26° / 8°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow37.9 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year33.6 insnowiest: December
Hottest on record105°FJuly 14, 1977
Coldest on record−35°FJanuary 31, 2019
Wettest day on record7.23 inAugust 8, 1977
Snowiest day on record18.0 inMarch 11, 1951
90° days a year11very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°145and 58 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 6, to the last in spring, about April 29 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 11 to Feb. 20; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 29 to April 9; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 14.8 of the year’s 37.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Garrison normally reaches 45° and falls to 26°. The record high is 73°, in 1950; the record low 1°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 1.25 in, fell in 1902.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high26°31°44°59°69°78°82°79°73°60°44°31°
Normal low8°12°24°35°47°57°60°58°50°37°25°15°
Rain and melt, in1.191.252.053.905.015.624.154.223.683.222.051.59
Snow, inches8.38.54.41.40.00.00.00.00.00.41.88.8
Record high63° (2002)76° (2024)88° (2026)91° (1952)95° (2022)101° (1988)105° (1977)104° (1988)100° (1955)94° (1953)80° (1944)73° (2021)
Record low−35° (2019)−32° (2019)−34° (1962)4° (1982)22° (2005)35° (1945)42° (2023)36° (1950)22° (1942)10° (1952)−10° (1977)−27° (1985)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Vinton, 7 miles east. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Garrison on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Waterloo IA · 26 MI 26 miles northwest Cedar Rapids IA · 27 MI 27 miles southeast Des Moines IA · 85 MI 85 miles southwest Madison WI · 153 MI 153 miles northeast Rockford IL · 158 MI 158 miles east Aurora IL · 200 MI 200 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Garrison, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · BENTON

Garrison

345 people, 890 ft above sea level in Benton County.

890 ftElevation
345People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 44°
SunnyDew point 26°
1

Today in Garrison

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 44° 0%
5p clear night 39° 0%
8p clear night 34° 0%
11p mostly clear night 30° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
5a fog 26° 0%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 50%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
24
44
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
26
49
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
33
53
B
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
55
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
47
57
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
43
60
C
Fri50%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
50
60
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 13, 1999

76°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Garrison stands on

Garrison’s center stands about 890 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 820 ft to 1,000 ft, a difference of 180 ft: gently rolling country.

Garrison, west to east Garrison890 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center890 ft
Within 3 miles820 to 1,000 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (180 ft of relief)
5

Garrison’s year

Garrison has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 8° in January. A normal year brings about 34 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 37.9 in
July, average82° / 60° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average26° / 8° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow37.9 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year33.6 in · snowiest: December
Hottest on record105°F · July 14, 1977
Coldest on record−35°F · January 31, 2019
Wettest day on record7.23 in · August 8, 1977
Snowiest day on record18.0 in · March 11, 1951
90° days a year11 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°145 · and 58 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 6, to the last in spring, about April 29 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 11 to Feb. 20; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 29 to April 9; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 14.8 of the year’s 37.9 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Garrison normally reaches 45° and falls to 26°. The record high is 73°, in 1950; the record low 1°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 1.25 in, fell in 1902.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Vinton, 7 miles east. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,570 mito the Gulf of AmericaHinkle Creek → Cedar River → Iowa → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Garrison reaches the Gulf of America by way of Hinkle Creek, the Cedar River, the Iowa and the Mississippi: about 1,570 river miles.