Cascade, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cascade's normal year runs from 11°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 39.3 inches of precipitation and 31 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.8°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 998 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCascade
- Station IDUSC00131257
- Location42.30°N 91.01°W
- Elevation814 ft (248 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,396
On October 23, the normal high in Cascade is 58°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cascade.
- Jan 27° 11°
- Feb 32° 15°
- Mar 45° 26°
- Apr 59° 37°
- May 70° 49°
- Jun 80° 60°
- Jul 83° 63°
- Aug 81° 60°
- Sep 75° 51°
- Oct 62° 39°
- Nov 46° 28°
- Dec 33° 18°
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 Cascade each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 11°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.96 in), the least in January (1.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 11°F | 19.4°F | 1.26 | 8.3 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 15°F | 23.3°F | 1.45 | 8.8 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 26°F | 35.5°F | 2.15 | 4.2 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 37°F | 47.9°F | 3.97 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 49°F | 59.7°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 60°F | 69.7°F | 5.96 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 63°F | 72.8°F | 4.53 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 60°F | 70.7°F | 4.65 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 51°F | 63.0°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 39°F | 50.2°F | 3.26 | 0.2 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 28°F | 37.1°F | 2.33 | 1.8 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 18°F | 25.3°F | 1.75 | 6.9 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 38°F | 47.9°F | 39.31 | 31.1 | 110 | 11 | 153 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −11°C | −7.0°C | 32 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 0°C | −10°C | −4.8°C | 37 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 7°C | −3°C | 1.9°C | 55 mm | 11 cm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 8.8°C | 101 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 151 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.5°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.1°C | 83 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 2.8°C | 59 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 0°C | −8°C | −3.7°C | 44 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131257; 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 Cascade?
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 USC00131257.
When is the last frost in Cascade?
In Cascade, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 in half of years and before September 28 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 281 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 164 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 186 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cascade in zone 5a in ZIP code 52033, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cascade's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (27 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 USC00131257; 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 Cascade?
In a normal year in Cascade, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 153 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 110 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 153a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 58high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 110a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1947) is 103°F, on July 26, 2012; the lowest is −33°F, on February 3, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2009, with 49.28 in; the snowiest season is 1974–75, with 71.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00131257; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00131257. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cascade?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cascade, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.8 |
| February | 72% | 2.9 |
| March | 70% | 3.8 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 69% | 2.0 |
| December | 63% | 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 Cascade need?
A normal year in Cascade brings 6,944 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 741 cooling degree days, 18% 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 2,894 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,414 | 0 |
| February | 1,169 | 0 |
| March | 914 | 1 |
| April | 517 | 4 |
| May | 213 | 47 |
| June | 31 | 172 |
| July | 7 | 250 |
| August | 13 | 188 |
| September | 131 | 73 |
| October | 468 | 7 |
| November | 837 | 0 |
| December | 1,232 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,944 | 741 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131257. 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 Cascade been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 47.6°F, 0.3°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 47.9°F. 0 of the 2 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 46.2°F | −1.7°F | – | – |
| 2025 | 47.6°F | −0.3°F | – | – |
Over 58 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.9°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00131257; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cascade's climate compare?
Cascade is warmer than 62 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 118. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.9°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cascade 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 Cascade share this climate record?
6 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.
- Dyersville, IA4,559 people · 14 mi NW
- Epworth, IA2,042 people · 11 mi N
- Farley, IA1,723 people · 10 mi N
- Hopkinton, IA622 people · 12 mi W
- Worthington, IA374 people · 9 mi NW
- Onslow, IA198 people · 13 mi S
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 Cascade's climate
What is the coldest month in Cascade?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 11°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Cascade?
Yes: 31 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cascade?
June, with 5.96 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cascade in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cascade in zone 5a in ZIP code 52033, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cascade's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Cascade?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Dubuque, IA17 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Anamosa, IA19 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Maquoketa, IA24 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Manchester, IA25 miles from this station, 46.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made