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

Hamilton

125 people, 910 ft above sea level in Marion County.

910 ftElevation, city center
125People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 25° · Calm · high 45°
City of Hamilton River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Hamilton 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 Hamilton

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Knoxville (KOXV) · 12:55 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 45° · high of 45° near 2 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity45%falling to 55% this afternoon
Pressure30.29 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 25° · Dry38° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 60.11 in · 8 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Marion County
NWS Des Moines and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 1:15 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:58 AM4:53 PM ↓
9 h 55 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
46
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, 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
1p
4p
7p
10p
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4p
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1a
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clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
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°
26°
48°
29°
52°
36°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 26 to 38°

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 Sunny Sunny
45° 26°
0% rain — S 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
51° 29°
0% rain — S 2 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
55° 36°
0% rain — SSW 8 A
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
57° 42°
0% rain — SSE 10 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
60° 49°
20% rain — S 13 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
61° 46°
10% rain — W 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
63° 53°
60% rain up to 0.3″ SSE 12 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 Hamilton about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the southern Plains three days ago, about 710 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. It rose from near the ground on the way. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from the central Plains. 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 Hamilton stands on

Hamilton’s center stands about 910 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 710 ft to 940 ft, a difference of 230 ft: rolling country.

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

Hamilton, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
700 ft800 ft900 ft HAMILTON910 ftHigh point of the line990 ftCedar Creekabout 740 ftDes Moines Riverabout 670 ft ← WBeacon · E →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 57×. 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

Lower Cherokee Group and Raccoon Creek Group

Shale, sandstone, siltstone. Age: Early Pennsylvanian to Middle Pennsylvanian, 307 to 324 million years old. About 21 mi of the line.

Upper Cherokee Group

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

St. Louis and Pella Formations

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Middle Mississippian to Late Mississippian, 324 to 347 million years old. About 1 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 Hamilton’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Hamilton reaches the Gulf of America by way of Coal Creek, the Des Moines and the Mississippi: about 1,470 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Hamilton≈ 1,470 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF HAMILTON ≈ 1,470 mi to the Gulf of America Coal Creek → Des Moines → Mississippi

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

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Hamilton on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Ottumwa IA · 27 MI 27 miles east Indianola IA · 37 MI 37 miles west Des Moines IA · 46 MI 46 miles northwest Cedar Rapids IA · 84 MI 84 miles northeast Columbia MO · 157 MI 157 miles south Omaha NE · 164 MI 164 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of Hamilton, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · MARION

Hamilton

125 people, 910 ft above sea level in Marion County.

910 ftElevation
125People
1 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 25°
1

Today in Hamilton

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 44° 0%
4p clear day 43° 0%
7p clear night 36° 0%
10p mostly clear night 31° 0%
1a mostly clear night 28° 0%
4a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
26
45
A
Sun0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
29
51
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
36
55
A
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
42
57
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
49
60
B
Thu10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
46
61
C
Fri60%
Showers likely Showers likely
53
63
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Hamilton stands on

Hamilton’s center stands about 910 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 710 ft to 940 ft, a difference of 230 ft: rolling country.

Hamilton, west to east Hamilton910 ftCedar Creekabout 740 ftDes Moines Riverabout 670 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 109×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center910 ft
Within 3 miles710 to 940 ft
Lie of the landRolling (230 ft of relief)
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,470 mito the Gulf of AmericaCoal Creek → Des Moines → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Hamilton reaches the Gulf of America by way of Coal Creek, the Des Moines and the Mississippi: about 1,470 river miles.