Burlington, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Burlington's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 37.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.1°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 30°C, 962 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBurlington Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00014931
- Location40.78°N 91.13°W
- Elevation692 ft (211 m)
- Population23,637
On October 23, the normal high in Burlington is 61°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Burlington.
- Jan 32° 16°
- Feb 37° 21°
- Mar 50° 31°
- Apr 63° 42°
- May 73° 53°
- Jun 82° 63°
- Jul 85° 66°
- Aug 84° 64°
- Sep 78° 56°
- Oct 65° 44°
- Nov 50° 32°
- Dec 37° 22°
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 Burlington each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.93 in), the least in January (1.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 16°F | 24.3°F | 1.45 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 37°F | 21°F | 28.8°F | 1.69 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 50°F | 31°F | 40.7°F | 2.43 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 42°F | 52.3°F | 3.92 | 12 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 53°F | 63.0°F | 4.93 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 63°F | 72.5°F | 4.87 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 85°F | 66°F | 75.6°F | 4.02 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 84°F | 64°F | 73.8°F | 3.77 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 78°F | 56°F | 66.7°F | 3.53 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 44°F | 54.2°F | 3.09 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 32°F | 41.0°F | 2.29 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 22°F | 29.9°F | 1.87 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 43°F | 51.9°F | 37.86 | 114 | 23 | 119 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.3°C | 37 mm |
| February | 3°C | −6°C | −1.8°C | 43 mm |
| March | 10°C | 0°C | 4.8°C | 62 mm |
| April | 17°C | 5°C | 11.3°C | 100 mm |
| May | 23°C | 12°C | 17.2°C | 125 mm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.5°C | 124 mm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.2°C | 102 mm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.2°C | 96 mm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 90 mm |
| October | 18°C | 7°C | 12.3°C | 78 mm |
| November | 10°C | 0°C | 5.0°C | 58 mm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −1.2°C | 47 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Burlington's own co-op station Burlington (2 mi S) does: 22 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014931; 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 Burlington?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USW00014931.
When is the last frost in Burlington?
In Burlington, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after May 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 6 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 151 year in 10 after May 1; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 187 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 207 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 5 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Burlington in zone 6a in ZIP code 52601. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Burlington's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (29 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Iowa · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00014931; 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 Burlington?
In a normal year in Burlington, 23 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 119 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 23a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 119a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
The highest temperature in Burlington's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1897) is 111°F, on July 15, 1936; the lowest is −27°F, on February 13, 1905.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 54.13 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 55.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014931; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record BRLthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Burlington?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Burlington, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (82%) and January the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.9 |
| February | 68% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 78% | 6.3 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 73% | 3.2 |
| November | 71% | 2.2 |
| December | 64% | 1.6 |
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 Burlington need?
A normal year in Burlington brings 5,820 heating degree days, 8% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,083 cooling degree days, 19% more 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 3,554 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,260 | 0 |
| February | 1,012 | 0 |
| March | 757 | 2 |
| April | 391 | 11 |
| May | 142 | 80 |
| June | 14 | 238 |
| July | 2 | 330 |
| August | 4 | 275 |
| September | 77 | 127 |
| October | 353 | 19 |
| November | 719 | 1 |
| December | 1,090 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,820 | 1,083 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014931. 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 Burlington been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 54.4°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.9°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.8°F | +0.9°F | 39.26 |
| 2022 | 50.6°F | −1.3°F | 26.27 |
| 2023 | 53.7°F | +1.8°F | 35.47 |
| 2024 | 54.4°F | +2.5°F | 38.68 |
Over 104 complete years from 1901 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014931; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Burlington's climate compare?
Burlington is warmer than 129 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 90. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.9°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Burlington 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 Burlington share this climate record?
8 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.
- Oquawka, IL1,074 people · 14 mi NE
- Stronghurst, IL772 people · 12 mi E
- Lomax, IL379 people · 8 mi S
- Carman, IL343 people · 5 mi SE
- Biggsville, IL287 people · 15 mi E
- Media, IL111 people · 15 mi E
- Raritan, IL98 people · 17 mi E
- Gulfport, IL38 people · 3 mi NE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Burlington's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Burlington. This page uses Burlington Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington (2 mi S) USC00131060 | 1 mi SE | 690 ft | 51.2°F | 15°F | 85°F | 41.0 | 22 | April 18 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Burlington's climate
What is the coldest month in Burlington?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Burlington?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Burlington's NOAA station; Burlington's own co-op station Burlington (2 mi S) records 22 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Burlington?
May, with 4.93 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Burlington in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Burlington in zone 6a in ZIP code 52601. By the same method at Burlington's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Burlington?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 1. Waiting until May 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Gladstone, IL9 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Fort Madison, IA16 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- La Harpe, IL16 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Donnellson, IA25 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made