Cherokee, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cherokee's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 31.2 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.2°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 29°C, 792 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCherokee
- Station IDUSC00131442
- Location42.76°N 95.54°W
- Elevation1,210 ft (369 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population5,186
On October 23, the normal high in Cherokee is 58°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cherokee.
- Jan 27° 7°
- Feb 32° 11°
- Mar 45° 23°
- Apr 59° 34°
- May 71° 47°
- Jun 81° 58°
- Jul 84° 62°
- Aug 82° 59°
- Sep 75° 50°
- Oct 62° 36°
- Nov 46° 24°
- Dec 32° 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 Cherokee each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.20 in), the least in January (0.65 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 7°F | 16.9°F | 0.65 | 7.5 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 11°F | 21.4°F | 0.78 | 8.4 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 23°F | 34.0°F | 1.66 | 5.2 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 34°F | 46.6°F | 3.17 | 2.7 | 9 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 47°F | 58.7°F | 4.28 | 0.1 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 81°F | 58°F | 69.4°F | 5.20 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 84°F | 62°F | 73.2°F | 3.40 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 59°F | 70.6°F | 4.12 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 50°F | 62.6°F | 3.29 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 36°F | 49.2°F | 2.25 | 0.5 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 24°F | 34.8°F | 1.46 | 4.0 | 5 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 32°F | 13°F | 22.4°F | 0.93 | 9.4 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 35°F | 46.7°F | 31.19 | 37.8 | 97 | 17 | 165 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −14°C | −8.4°C | 17 mm | 19 cm |
| February | 0°C | −12°C | −5.9°C | 20 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 7°C | −5°C | 1.1°C | 42 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 15°C | 1°C | 8.1°C | 81 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.8°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.0°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 2°C | 9.6°C | 57 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 37 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 0°C | −11°C | −5.3°C | 24 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131442; 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 Cherokee?
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 USC00131442.
When is the last frost in Cherokee?
In Cherokee, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 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 41 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 152 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 172 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cherokee in zone 5a in ZIP code 51012, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cherokee's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (30 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 USC00131442; 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 Cherokee?
In a normal year in Cherokee, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 165 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 97 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
- 165a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 62high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 97a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1921) is 109°F, on August 3, 1930; the lowest is −35°F, on January 20, 1970.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 43.50 in; the snowiest season is 2015–16, with 60.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00131442; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00131442. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cherokee?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cherokee, 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 Cherokee need?
A normal year in Cherokee brings 7,404 heating degree days, 38% 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 2,850 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,491 | 0 |
| February | 1,221 | 0 |
| March | 962 | 0 |
| April | 555 | 5 |
| May | 241 | 46 |
| June | 37 | 168 |
| July | 8 | 262 |
| August | 18 | 193 |
| September | 146 | 74 |
| October | 497 | 8 |
| November | 908 | 0 |
| December | 1,322 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,404 | 755 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131442. 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 Cherokee been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.0°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.1°F | +1.4°F | 27.16 | 23.9 |
| 2022 | 45.8°F | −0.9°F | 17.95 | 22.3 |
| 2023 | 48.3°F | +1.6°F | 32.62 | 31.2 |
| 2024 | 49.5°F | +2.8°F | 35.19 | 20.0 |
| 2025 | 48.0°F | +1.3°F | 35.82 | 39.8 |
Over 90 complete years from 1922 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00131442; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cherokee's climate compare?
Cherokee is warmer than 34 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 12. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.7°F is warmer than 26%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.
- Marcus, IA1,069 people · 14 mi W
- Aurelia, IA970 people · 6 mi SE
- Quimby, IA245 people · 10 mi SW
- Cleghorn, IA235 people · 10 mi NW
- Meriden, IA175 people · 6 mi NW
- Larrabee, IA116 people · 7 mi N
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 Cherokee's climate
What is the coldest month in Cherokee?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Cherokee?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cherokee?
June, with 5.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.65 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cherokee in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cherokee in zone 5a in ZIP code 51012, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cherokee's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Cherokee?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Holstein, IA19 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Storm Lake, IA19 miles from this station, 47.1°F a year
- Primghar, IA23 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Ida Grove, IA25 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made