Cresco, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cresco's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 38.0 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.2°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 965 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCresco (1 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00131954
- Location43.39°N 92.09°W
- Elevation1,255 ft (383 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population3,890
On October 23, the normal high in Cresco is 56°F and the normal low 33°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 Cresco.
- Jan 24° 6°
- Feb 29° 9°
- Mar 42° 21°
- Apr 57° 33°
- May 69° 45°
- Jun 79° 56°
- Jul 83° 60°
- Aug 81° 57°
- Sep 74° 48°
- Oct 60° 36°
- Nov 44° 24°
- Dec 30° 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 Cresco each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in June (6.26 in), the least in January (1.12 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 6°F | 14.9°F | 1.12 | 9.4 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 29°F | 9°F | 18.6°F | 1.17 | 10.0 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 21°F | 31.5°F | 1.89 | 6.0 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 33°F | 45.0°F | 3.74 | 2.4 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 45°F | 57.4°F | 4.47 | 0.2 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 56°F | 67.8°F | 6.26 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 60°F | 71.4°F | 4.83 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 81°F | 57°F | 68.9°F | 4.59 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 48°F | 61.2°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 36°F | 47.9°F | 2.87 | 0.2 | 9 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 44°F | 24°F | 33.9°F | 1.88 | 2.6 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 30°F | 13°F | 21.5°F | 1.42 | 9.5 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 34°F | 45.0°F | 38.00 | 40.3 | 115 | 8 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −15°C | −9.5°C | 28 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.4°C | 30 mm | 25 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.3°C | 48 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 95 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 14.1°C | 114 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.9°C | 159 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.5°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 9°C | 16.2°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 2°C | 8.8°C | 73 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 1.1°C | 48 mm | 7 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −5.8°C | 36 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131954; 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 Cresco?
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 USC00131954.
When is the last frost in Cresco?
In Cresco, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 19 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 81 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 147 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 165 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cresco in zone 4b in ZIP code 52136, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cresco's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (29 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 USC00131954; 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 Cresco?
In a normal year in Cresco, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 115 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 74high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 115a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 106°F, on July 24, 1901; the lowest is −36°F, on February 3, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 57.59 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 85.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00131954; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00131954. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cresco?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cresco, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 75% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 68% | 1.9 |
| December | 63% | 1.4 |
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 Cresco need?
A normal year in Cresco brings 7,839 heating degree days, 46% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 590 cooling degree days, 35% 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 2,568 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,551 | 0 |
| February | 1,298 | 0 |
| March | 1,040 | 0 |
| April | 603 | 3 |
| May | 270 | 32 |
| June | 50 | 134 |
| July | 12 | 210 |
| August | 27 | 149 |
| September | 171 | 56 |
| October | 536 | 6 |
| November | 935 | 0 |
| December | 1,347 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,839 | 590 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131954. 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 Cresco been warmer than normal lately?
Over 57 complete years from 1945 to 2019, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.8°F per century (+0.15°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 Cresco's climate compare?
Cresco is warmer than 7 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 95. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.0°F is warmer than 19%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cresco is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Cresco share this climate record?
4 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.
- Harmony, MN1,030 people · 12 mi N
- Canton, MN313 people · 13 mi NE
- Protivin, IA264 people · 12 mi S
- Ridgeway, IA261 people · 8 mi SE
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 Cresco's climate
What is the coldest month in Cresco?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Cresco?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 27 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (10.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cresco?
June, with 6.26 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.12 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cresco in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cresco in zone 4b in ZIP code 52136, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cresco's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Cresco?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Decorah, IA16 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Mabel, MN19 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Preston, MN20 miles from this station, 43.8°F a year
- New Hampton, IA26 miles from this station, 44.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made