Chariton, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chariton's normal year runs from 11°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 37.3 inches of precipitation and 24 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.1°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 29°C, 948 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChariton (1 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00131394
- Location41.02°N 93.28°W
- Elevation965 ft (294 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population4,278
On October 23, the normal high in Chariton is 61°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chariton.
- Jan 31° 11°
- Feb 36° 14°
- Mar 49° 25°
- Apr 61° 35°
- May 71° 47°
- Jun 80° 57°
- Jul 85° 62°
- Aug 83° 59°
- Sep 76° 50°
- Oct 64° 38°
- Nov 49° 26°
- Dec 37° 16°
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 Chariton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 11°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.39 in), the least in January (0.96 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 11°F | 20.8°F | 0.96 | 7.9 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 14°F | 24.7°F | 1.40 | 6.5 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 25°F | 36.6°F | 1.90 | 3.5 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 35°F | 48.0°F | 4.15 | 0.8 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 47°F | 58.7°F | 5.39 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 57°F | 68.7°F | 4.92 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 85°F | 62°F | 73.0°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 59°F | 71.1°F | 4.40 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 50°F | 62.9°F | 3.71 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 38°F | 50.8°F | 2.98 | 0.3 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 26°F | 37.4°F | 2.03 | 2.0 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 16°F | 26.4°F | 1.27 | 3.1 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 37°F | 48.3°F | 37.32 | 24.1 | 117 | 17 | 154 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −12°C | −6.2°C | 24 mm | 20 cm |
| February | 2°C | −10°C | −4.1°C | 36 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 9°C | −4°C | 2.6°C | 48 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 105 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 22°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.8°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.7°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.2°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 3°C | 10.4°C | 76 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | −3°C | 3.0°C | 52 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 3°C | −9°C | −3.1°C | 32 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131394; 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 Chariton?
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 USC00131394.
When is the last frost in Chariton?
In Chariton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 20 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 51 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 170 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chariton in zone 5b in ZIP code 50049, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Chariton's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (22 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 USC00131394; 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 Chariton?
In a normal year in Chariton, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 154 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 117 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 154a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 46high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 117a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1895) is 114°F, on August 9, 1934; the lowest is −38°F, on February 3, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 53.84 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 58.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00131394; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00131394. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Chariton?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chariton, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (68%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68% | 2.0 |
| February | 74% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 3.8 |
| April | 69% | 4.8 |
| May | 72% | 5.7 |
| June | 77% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.4 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 80% | 4.6 |
| October | 73% | 3.1 |
| November | 72% | 2.2 |
| December | 68% | 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 Chariton need?
A normal year in Chariton brings 6,801 heating degree days, 27% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 732 cooling degree days, 19% 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 2,887 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,370 | 0 |
| February | 1,128 | 0 |
| March | 881 | 1 |
| April | 514 | 4 |
| May | 232 | 35 |
| June | 38 | 149 |
| July | 7 | 255 |
| August | 16 | 204 |
| September | 138 | 76 |
| October | 450 | 9 |
| November | 830 | 0 |
| December | 1,198 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,801 | 732 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131394. 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 Chariton been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 48.4°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.3°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.1°F | +1.8°F | 41.84 | 24.9 |
| 2022 | 48.4°F | +0.1°F | 32.29 | 30.7 |
Over 93 complete years from 1897 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.8°F per century (+0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00131394; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Chariton's climate compare?
Chariton is warmer than 73 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 78. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.3°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chariton 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 Chariton 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.
- Russell, IA475 people · 5 mi SE
- Lacona, IA336 people · 13 mi NW
- Lucas, IA176 people · 10 mi W
- Williamson, IA126 people · 5 mi N
- Melrose, IA110 people · 12 mi E
- Derby, IA89 people · 11 mi SW
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 Chariton's climate
What is the coldest month in Chariton?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 11°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Chariton?
Yes: 24 inches in a normal year, falling on 14 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (7.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Chariton?
May, with 5.39 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.96 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chariton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chariton in zone 5b in ZIP code 50049, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Chariton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Chariton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Allerton, IA22 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Knoxville, IA23 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Rathbun, IA24 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Osceola, IA25 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made