Battle Creek, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Battle Creek's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 32.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.3°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 29°C, 815 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBattle Creek (3 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00130512
- Location42.37°N 95.58°W
- Elevation1,380 ft (421 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population683
On October 23, the normal high in Battle Creek is 59°F and the normal low 32°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Battle Creek.
- Jan 27° 8°
- Feb 32° 12°
- Mar 45° 23°
- Apr 60° 35°
- May 71° 48°
- Jun 81° 59°
- Jul 84° 62°
- Aug 82° 59°
- Sep 76° 50°
- Oct 63° 36°
- Nov 46° 24°
- Dec 33° 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 Battle Creek each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.80 in), the least in January (0.74 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 8°F | 17.6°F | 0.74 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 12°F | 21.9°F | 0.87 | – | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 23°F | 34.3°F | 1.78 | – | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 35°F | 47.1°F | 3.42 | – | <1 | 15 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 48°F | 59.5°F | 4.40 | – | 2 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 59°F | 69.7°F | 4.80 | – | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 84°F | 62°F | 73.1°F | 3.71 | – | 8 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 59°F | 70.5°F | 4.23 | – | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 76°F | 50°F | 62.7°F | 3.16 | – | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 36°F | 49.2°F | 2.37 | – | <1 | 13 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 24°F | 34.8°F | 1.48 | – | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 13°F | 22.9°F | 1.12 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 36°F | 46.9°F | 32.08 | – | 19 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −13°C | −8.0°C | 19 mm |
| February | 0°C | −11°C | −5.6°C | 22 mm |
| March | 7°C | −5°C | 1.3°C | 45 mm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.4°C | 87 mm |
| May | 22°C | 9°C | 15.3°C | 112 mm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 122 mm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 94 mm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 107 mm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 80 mm |
| October | 17°C | 2°C | 9.6°C | 60 mm |
| November | 8°C | −5°C | 1.6°C | 38 mm |
| December | 0°C | −10°C | −5.1°C | 28 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Holstein (8 miles away), gets 35 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00130512; 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 Battle Creek?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00130512.
When is the last frost in Battle Creek?
In Battle Creek, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 153 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 171 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Battle Creek in zone 5a in ZIP code 51006, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Iowa · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00130512; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Battle Creek?
In a normal year in Battle Creek, 19 days a year reach 90°F and 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 19a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 57high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00130512.
How sunny is Battle Creek?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Battle Creek, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 2.0 |
| February | 77% | 3.1 |
| March | 70% | 3.9 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.7 |
| June | 77% | 6.4 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.5 |
| October | 74% | 3.1 |
| November | 73% | 2.2 |
| December | 70% | 1.7 |
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 Battle Creek need?
A normal year in Battle Creek brings 7,304 heating degree days, 36% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 755 cooling degree days, 17% 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 2,885 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,469 | 0 |
| February | 1,208 | 0 |
| March | 952 | 1 |
| April | 541 | 5 |
| May | 222 | 51 |
| June | 31 | 171 |
| July | 7 | 258 |
| August | 20 | 189 |
| September | 144 | 75 |
| October | 496 | 6 |
| November | 908 | 0 |
| December | 1,306 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,304 | 755 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00130512. 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 Battle Creek been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.7°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.9°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 46.6°F | −0.3°F | 22.99 |
| 2024 | 50.4°F | +3.5°F | 33.96 |
| 2025 | 48.7°F | +1.8°F | 36.29 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00130512. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Battle Creek's climate compare?
Battle Creek is warmer than 41 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 17. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.9°F is warmer than 27%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Battle Creek 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 Battle Creek share this climate record?
Anthon has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Anthon, IA534 people · 15 mi W
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 Battle Creek's climate
What is the coldest month in Battle Creek?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Battle Creek?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Battle Creek's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Holstein (8 miles away), records 35 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Battle Creek?
June, with 4.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.74 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Battle Creek in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Battle Creek in zone 5a in ZIP code 51006, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Battle Creek?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ida Grove, IA4 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Holstein, IA8 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Mapleton, IA18 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Castana, IA25 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made