Algona, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Algona's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 34.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.8°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 28°C, 866 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAlgona
- Station IDUSC00130133
- Location43.07°N 94.22°W
- Elevation1,214 ft (370 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population5,341
On October 23, the normal high in Algona is 58°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Algona.
- Jan 25° 6°
- Feb 29° 10°
- Mar 43° 23°
- Apr 58° 34°
- May 71° 47°
- Jun 80° 58°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 81° 59°
- Sep 75° 50°
- Oct 62° 38°
- Nov 45° 24°
- Dec 31° 13°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Algona each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.49 in), the least in January (0.90 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 6°F | 15.4°F | 0.90 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 29°F | 10°F | 19.8°F | 1.04 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 23°F | 32.6°F | 1.95 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 34°F | 46.1°F | 3.36 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 47°F | 58.5°F | 4.72 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 80°F | 58°F | 69.0°F | 5.49 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.1°F | 4.13 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 81°F | 59°F | 69.7°F | 4.27 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 50°F | 62.6°F | 3.27 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 38°F | 49.7°F | 2.44 | 7 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 45°F | 24°F | 34.3°F | 1.46 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 31°F | 13°F | 21.6°F | 1.06 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 35°F | 46.0°F | 34.09 | 98 | 10 | 160 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −14°C | −9.2°C | 23 mm |
| February | −1°C | −12°C | −6.8°C | 26 mm |
| March | 6°C | −5°C | 0.3°C | 50 mm |
| April | 15°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 85 mm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 120 mm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 139 mm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 105 mm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 108 mm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.0°C | 83 mm |
| October | 17°C | 3°C | 9.8°C | 62 mm |
| November | 7°C | −5°C | 1.3°C | 37 mm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −5.8°C | 27 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Emmetsburg (23 miles away), gets 37 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00130133; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Algona?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00130133.
When is the last frost in Algona?
In Algona, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 23 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 301 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 160 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 180 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 20 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Algona in zone 5a in ZIP code 50511, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Algona's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (15 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Iowa · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00130133; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Algona?
In a normal year in Algona, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 160 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 98 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 160a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 73high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 98a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 110°F, on August 3, 1930; the lowest is −35°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1915, with 42.19 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 75.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00130133; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00130133. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Algona?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Algona, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 1.9 |
| February | 77% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 69% | 4.8 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 2.9 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 66% | 1.5 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Algona need?
A normal year in Algona brings 7,568 heating degree days, 41% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 670 cooling degree days, 26% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,756 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,536 | 0 |
| February | 1,267 | 0 |
| March | 1,003 | 0 |
| April | 570 | 3 |
| May | 241 | 39 |
| June | 37 | 157 |
| July | 8 | 229 |
| August | 19 | 165 |
| September | 139 | 68 |
| October | 484 | 8 |
| November | 921 | 0 |
| December | 1,344 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,568 | 670 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00130133. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Algona been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 48.1°F, 2.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.0°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.3°F | +2.3°F | 28.00 |
| 2022 | 44.8°F | −1.2°F | 21.21 |
| 2023 | 48.1°F | +2.1°F | 28.34 |
Over 94 complete years from 1864 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.2°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00130133; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Algona's climate compare?
Algona is warmer than 17 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 31. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.0°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Algona is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Algona share this climate record?
13 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- West Bend, IA770 people · 13 mi SW
- Titonka, IA491 people · 15 mi NE
- Whittemore, IA478 people · 10 mi W
- Burt, IA404 people · 9 mi N
- Wesley, IA382 people · 12 mi E
- Fenton, IA250 people · 15 mi NW
- Lu Verne, IA248 people · 13 mi SE
- Lone Rock, IA143 people · 12 mi NW
- Irvington, IA81 people · 4 mi S
- St. Joseph, IA78 people · 11 mi S
- Ottosen, IA41 people · 14 mi SW
- St. Benedict, IA20 people · 8 mi E
- Sexton, IA14 people · 7 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Algona's climate
What is the coldest month in Algona?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Algona?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Algona's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Emmetsburg (23 miles away), records 37 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Algona?
June, with 5.49 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.90 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Algona in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Algona in zone 5a in ZIP code 50511, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Algona's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Algona?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Emmetsburg, IA24 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Dakota City, IA24 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Humboldt, IA24 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Britt, IA24 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made