Creston, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Creston's normal year runs from 11°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 37.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.3°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 29°C, 962 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCreston (2 mi SW)
- Station IDUSC00131962
- Location41.04°N 94.39°W
- Elevation1,296 ft (395 m)
- Population7,421
On October 24, the normal high in Creston is 60°F and the normal low 36°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Creston.
- Jan 31° 11°
- Feb 35° 14°
- Mar 49° 26°
- Apr 61° 36°
- May 71° 49°
- Jun 81° 59°
- Jul 85° 63°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 76° 52°
- Oct 64° 39°
- Nov 48° 26°
- Dec 36° 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 Creston 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 June (5.17 in), the least in January (1.04 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 11°F | 20.5°F | 1.04 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 35°F | 14°F | 24.5°F | 1.46 | – | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 26°F | 37.1°F | 2.53 | – | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 36°F | 48.6°F | 3.74 | – | <1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 49°F | 60.1°F | 5.15 | – | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 59°F | 70.1°F | 5.17 | – | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 85°F | 63°F | 74.0°F | 4.46 | – | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 71.8°F | 4.23 | – | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 52°F | 64.0°F | 3.70 | – | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 39°F | 51.7°F | 2.79 | – | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 26°F | 37.3°F | 2.14 | – | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| December | 36°F | 16°F | 25.8°F | 1.48 | – | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 38°F | 48.8°F | 37.89 | – | 18 | 145 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −12°C | −6.4°C | 26 mm |
| February | 2°C | −10°C | −4.2°C | 37 mm |
| March | 9°C | −4°C | 2.8°C | 64 mm |
| April | 16°C | 2°C | 9.2°C | 95 mm |
| May | 22°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 131 mm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 131 mm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 23.3°C | 113 mm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 107 mm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 94 mm |
| October | 18°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 71 mm |
| November | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 54 mm |
| December | 2°C | −9°C | −3.4°C | 38 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Greenfield (18 miles away), gets 26 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131962; 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 Creston?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00131962.
When is the last frost in Creston?
In Creston, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 11 in half of years and before September 24 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 9; 9 in 10 after April 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 164 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 185 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 17 in half of springs and before October 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Creston in zone 5b in ZIP code 50801, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Iowa · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00131962; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Creston?
In a normal year in Creston, 18 days a year reach 90°F and 145 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 18a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 145a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 48high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1905) is 111°F, on July 25, 1936; the lowest is −31°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1909, with 47.38 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 63.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00131962; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00131962. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Creston?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Creston, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.0 |
| February | 75% | 3.1 |
| March | 70% | 3.9 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.7 |
| June | 78% | 6.3 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.2 |
| November | 73% | 2.2 |
| December | 69% | 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 Creston need?
A normal year in Creston brings 6,696 heating degree days, 25% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 831 cooling degree days, 8% 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 3,075 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,378 | 0 |
| February | 1,135 | 0 |
| March | 866 | 1 |
| April | 494 | 4 |
| May | 200 | 47 |
| June | 24 | 179 |
| July | 4 | 282 |
| August | 11 | 224 |
| September | 117 | 87 |
| October | 422 | 9 |
| November | 831 | 0 |
| December | 1,214 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,696 | 831 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00131962. 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.
How does Creston's climate compare?
Creston is warmer than 83 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 91. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.8°F is warmer than 35%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Creston 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 Creston share this climate record?
5 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.
- Afton, IA864 people · 10 mi E
- Cromwell, IA104 people · 4 mi W
- Arispe, IA95 people · 11 mi SE
- Shannon City, IA73 people · 12 mi SE
- Kent, IA0 people · 7 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 Creston's climate
What is the coldest month in Creston?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 11°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Creston?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Creston's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Greenfield (18 miles away), records 26 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Creston?
June, with 5.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Creston in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Creston in zone 5b in ZIP code 50801, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Creston?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Greenfield, IA18 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Corning, IA19 miles from this station, 49.4°F a year
- Beaconsfield, IA24 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Mount Ayr, IA24 miles from this station, 49.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made