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

Stanley

86 people, 1,110 ft above sea level in Buchanan County.

1,110 ftElevation, city center
86People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 27° · Calm · high 42°
City of Stanley River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Stanley 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 Stanley

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 2:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Oelwein Municipal Airport (KOLZ) · 2:55 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 45° · high of 42° near 3 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity49%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.28 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 27° · Dry37° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 110.07 in · 3 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Buchanan County
NWS Quad Cities and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:57 AM4:46 PM ↓
9 h 48 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
36
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
3p
6p
9p
Mid
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6a
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Noon
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3a
6a
9a
Noon
clear day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
42°
25°
46°
28°
50°
35°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
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6
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 37° More humid: 37° 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 Sunny Sunny
42° 25°
0% rain — WNW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
48° 28°
0% rain — S 3 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
51° 34°
0% rain — SSW 11 A
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 39°
0% rain — S 13 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 46°
20% rain — S 15, gusts 26 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
57° 41°
20% rain — W 6 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
59° 50°
60% rain up to 0.4″ 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 Stanley about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Canadian Prairies three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 1,010 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. It rose from near the ground on the way. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the northern Rockies. 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. 14, 1999

The hottest this week has been

73° on Nov. 14, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 73° in 2012.

73°
73°
20121999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Fayette record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Stanley stands on

Stanley’s center stands about 1,110 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,060 ft to 1,170 ft, a difference of 110 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Hopkinton, Blanding, Tete Des Morts, Mosalem formations (dolostone), from the Late Ordovician to Silurian, 434 to 447 million years old.

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

Stanley, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
900 ft1,000 ft1,100 ft1,200 ft STANLEY1,110 ftLow point890 ftHigh point of the line1,200 ft ← SW · IndependenceNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 62×. 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

Hopkinton, Blanding, Tete Des Morts, Mosalem formations

Dolostone. Age: Late Ordovician to Silurian, 434 to 447 million years old. About 12 mi of the line.

Cedar Valley Group

Limestone, dolostone. Age: Middle Devonian to Late Devonian, 374 to 388 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Wapsipinicon Group

Dolostone, limestone. Age: Middle Devonian, 384 to 394 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Scotch Grove Formation

Dolostone. 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 Stanley’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Stanley reaches the Gulf of America by way of West Branch Buffalo Creek, Buffalo Creek, the Wapsipinicon and the Mississippi: about 1,640 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Stanley≈ 1,640 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF STANLEY ≈ 1,640 mi to the Gulf of America West Branch Buffalo Creek → Buffalo Creek → Wapsipinicon → Mississippi

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Stanley’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Fayette, 17 mi north

Stanley has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 6° in January. A normal year brings about 41 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 40 inches of water.

24°6°29°10°42°22°57°33°69°45°78°56°82°60°80°57°74°48°60°36°44°24°31°13° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY STANLEY 39.5 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, average24° / 6°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.5 inwettest months: June and July
Snow a year41.1 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record110°FJuly 14, 1936
Coldest on record−40°FFebruary 3, 1996
Wettest day on record7.67 inJuly 22, 2017
Snowiest day on record21.0 inMarch 6, 1959
90° days a year6none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°163and 68 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 3, to the last in spring, about May 5 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 10 to Feb. 24; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 27 to April 13; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 16.3 of the year’s 39.5 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Stanley normally reaches 45° and falls to 25°. The record high is 73°, in 1999; the record low −3°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 1.68 in, fell in 1927.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high24°29°42°57°69°78°82°80°74°60°44°31°
Normal low6°10°22°33°45°56°60°57°48°36°24°13°
Rain and melt, in1.221.212.064.135.055.915.324.133.872.902.061.65
Snow, inches10.89.95.41.80.00.00.00.00.00.32.710.2
Record high61° (1944)72° (2024)86° (1895)96° (1980)109° (1934)108° (1934)110° (1936)104° (1988)101° (1927)91° (1976)79° (1933)67° (2021)
Record low−38° (1951)−40° (1996)−33° (1962)−2° (1982)18° (1907)30° (1903)38° (1904)33° (1915)15° (1899)−5° (1925)−20° (1977)−34° (1950)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Fayette, 17 miles north. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Stanley on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Waterloo IA · 29 MI 29 miles west Cedar Falls IA · 34 MI 34 miles west Des Moines IA · 118 MI 118 miles southwest Madison WI · 125 MI 125 miles east St. Paul MN · 172 MI 172 miles north Minneapolis MN · 176 MI 176 miles northwest
FORECASTCITY
Map of Stanley, Iowa. Explore the plate
IOWA · BUCHANAN

Stanley

86 people, 1,110 ft above sea level in Buchanan County.

1,110 ftElevation
86People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 27°
1

Today in Stanley

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 42° 0%
6p clear night 36° 0%
9p mostly clear night 31° 0%
12a partly cloudy night 28° 0%
3a partly cloudy night 26° 0%
6a partly cloudy night 26° 0%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
25
42
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
28
48
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
34
51
A
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
54
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
46
56
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
41
57
C
Fri60%
Showers likely Showers likely
50
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 14, 1999

73°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Stanley stands on

Stanley’s center stands about 1,110 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,060 ft to 1,170 ft, a difference of 110 ft: gently rolling country.

Stanley, southwest to northeast Stanley1,110 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 119×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,110 ft
Within 3 miles1,060 to 1,170 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (110 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceHopkinton, Blanding, Tete Des Morts, Mosalem formations
Its ageLate Ordovician to Silurian, 434 to 447 million years old
5

Stanley’s year

Stanley has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 6° in January. A normal year brings about 41 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 40 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 39.5 in
July, average82° / 60° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average24° / 6° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.5 in · wettest months: June and July
Snow a year41.1 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record110°F · July 14, 1936
Coldest on record−40°F · February 3, 1996
Wettest day on record7.67 in · July 22, 2017
Snowiest day on record21.0 in · March 6, 1959
90° days a year6 · none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°163 · and 68 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 3, to the last in spring, about May 5 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 10 to Feb. 24; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 27 to April 13; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 16.3 of the year’s 39.5 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Stanley normally reaches 45° and falls to 25°. The record high is 73°, in 1999; the record low −3°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 1.68 in, fell in 1927.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Fayette, 17 miles north. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,640 mito the Gulf of AmericaWest Branch Buffalo Creek → Buffalo Creek → Wapsipinicon → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Stanley reaches the Gulf of America by way of West Branch Buffalo Creek, Buffalo Creek, the Wapsipinicon and the Mississippi: about 1,640 river miles.