Corning, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Corning's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 35.3 inches of precipitation and 28 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.7°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 29°C, 896 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCorning
- Station IDUSC00131833
- Location40.99°N 94.76°W
- Elevation1,190 ft (363 m)
- Population1,509
On October 23, the normal high in Corning is 61°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Corning.
- Jan 31° 12°
- Feb 37° 16°
- Mar 49° 27°
- Apr 61° 37°
- May 71° 49°
- Jun 81° 59°
- Jul 85° 64°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 76° 52°
- Oct 64° 40°
- Nov 49° 27°
- Dec 36° 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 Corning each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.16 in), the least in January (0.84 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 12°F | 21.7°F | 0.84 | 8.2 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 37°F | 16°F | 26.1°F | 1.20 | 6.2 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 27°F | 37.8°F | 2.08 | 3.3 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 37°F | 48.9°F | 3.44 | 1.2 | 10 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 49°F | 60.1°F | 5.15 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 59°F | 70.0°F | 5.16 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 85°F | 64°F | 74.2°F | 4.00 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 72.3°F | 3.82 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 52°F | 64.3°F | 3.50 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 40°F | 52.0°F | 2.80 | 0.4 | 8 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 27°F | 38.1°F | 1.86 | 1.6 | 6 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| December | 36°F | 18°F | 26.9°F | 1.43 | 6.9 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 38°F | 49.4°F | 35.28 | 27.8 | 92 | 17 | 148 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −11°C | −5.7°C | 21 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 3°C | −9°C | −3.3°C | 30 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 10°C | −3°C | 3.2°C | 53 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 87 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 22°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 4°C | 11.1°C | 71 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | −3°C | 3.4°C | 47 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −2.8°C | 36 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131833; 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 Corning?
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 (7).
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 USC00131833.
When is the last frost in Corning?
In Corning, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 27 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 12 in half of years and before September 26 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 271 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 121 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 168 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 187 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 16 in half of springs and before October 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Corning in zone 5b in ZIP code 50841, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Corning's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (16 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 USC00131833; 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 Corning?
In a normal year in Corning, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 148 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 92 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
- 148a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 46high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 92a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 115°F, on July 25, 1936; the lowest is −32°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 59.71 in; the snowiest season is 1928–29, with 53.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00131833; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00131833. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Corning?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Corning, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and March the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.1 |
| February | 73% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 81% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.3 |
| November | 74% | 2.3 |
| December | 70% | 1.8 |
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 Corning need?
A normal year in Corning brings 6,509 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 855 cooling degree days, 6% 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 3,122 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,342 | 0 |
| February | 1,088 | 0 |
| March | 843 | 1 |
| April | 487 | 5 |
| May | 199 | 47 |
| June | 27 | 176 |
| July | 3 | 288 |
| August | 10 | 235 |
| September | 111 | 91 |
| October | 414 | 11 |
| November | 807 | 0 |
| December | 1,179 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,509 | 855 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131833. 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 Corning been warmer than normal lately?
Over 79 complete years from 1894 to 2020, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°F per century (+0.09°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Corning's climate compare?
Corning is warmer than 95 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 43. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.4°F is warmer than 38%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Corning 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 Corning 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.
- Lenox, IA1,355 people · 13 mi SE
- Villisca, IA1,106 people · 12 mi W
- Prescott, IA186 people · 8 mi E
- Grant, IA82 people · 16 mi NW
- Nodaway, IA74 people · 8 mi SW
- Carbon, IA32 people · 5 mi NW
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 Corning's climate
What is the coldest month in Corning?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Corning?
Yes: 28 inches in a normal year, falling on 13 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Corning?
June, with 5.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.84 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Corning in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Corning in zone 5b in ZIP code 50841, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Corning's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Corning?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 27; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Creston, IA19 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Bedford, IA22 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Clarinda, IA23 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Red Oak, IA25 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made