Why visit Alta
Townapedia lists 3 parks and trails in and around town.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 82°F; January lows average 9°F.
Weather in Alta
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Alta
Alta is a city in Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,087 at the 2020 census.
From the Wikipedia article Alta, Iowa (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Parks, trails and playgrounds3
Churches and places of worship8
Danish Lutheran Church
Church · National Register of Historic Places
Church building in Alta, Iowa
Schools, colleges and libraries10
St Lake/Ia Cntrl/Buena Vista Early College Hs
School · 5.9 mi
621 Tornado Dr, Storm Lake
History
Alta was platted in 1872, and it was incorporated in 1878. By 1882, Alta contained three general stores, two drug stores, two grocery stores, a shoe store, two hardware stores, a meat market, two lumber dealers, two agriculture implement dealers, a bank, two furniture stores, a clothing store, a barber shop, two saloons, a music store, two jewelry stores, a restaurant, four blacksmiths, two elevators, and a gristmill.
Halvor H. Peterson (1831–1917), Wisconsin State Assemblyman and farmer, lived in Alta.
From the History section of Alta, Iowa on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Alta
21 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26°F | 9°F | 0.8 in |
| Feb | 30°F | 13°F | 1.0 in |
| Mar | 43°F | 25°F | 1.7 in |
| Apr | 58°F | 37°F | 3.5 in |
| May | 69°F | 49°F | 4.9 in |
| Jun | 79°F | 60°F | 5.3 in |
| Jul | 82°F | 64°F | 3.8 in |
| Aug | 80°F | 61°F | 4.4 in |
| Sep | 74°F | 53°F | 3.0 in |
| Oct | 61°F | 40°F | 2.4 in |
| Nov | 44°F | 27°F | 1.8 in |
| Dec | 31°F | 15°F | 1.1 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Storm Lake Hcn (6 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Buena Vista County has had 16 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for severe storms.
- 2024-06-24: Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes (Severe Storm)
- 2024-05-24: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2022-02-23: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes (Severe Storm)
- 2020-03-23: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
- 2019-03-23: Severe Storms And Flooding (Flood)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Storm Lake Municipal Airport (SLB) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 6 miles away.
- Storm Lake 6 mi east, about 9 min by car
- Pocahontas 33 mi east, about 53 min by car
- Primghar 33 mi northwest, about 53 min by car
- Spencer 34 mi north, about 54 min by car
- Kingsley 34 mi west, about 55 min by car
- Manson 40 mi east, about 1 h by car
- Lake City 40 mi southeast, about 1 h by car
- Moville 41 mi west, about 1 h by car
- Le Mars 45 mi west, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Carroll 47 mi southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
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