Des Moines, IA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Des Moines's primary NOAA station, DES MOINES INTL AP - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 51°F. Its climate comfort score of 63/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 46% of station-mapped location scores.
- 51°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 63/100
- comfort score, above 46% of station-mapped location scores
- 36.5"
- annual precipitation · 37" snow
- 185 days
- frost-free growing season
Des Moines: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00014933 · Des Moines, IA 51°F mean · 36.5" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 51°F
- RANK-MID #3,019
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Glenwood
- PRCP-MID 36.5"
- SWING-WIDE 54°F
- COMF-MID 63/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,178 HDD
- STN-MULTI USW00014933
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Glenwood, IA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every IA station list.
- Des Moines (this station) 51°F
- Cold Gretna, NE 51°F
- Hot Glenwood, IA 51°F
- Near Niobrara, NE 51°F
- Near Red Oak, IA 51°F
Climate Living Index · Des Moines
Des Moines: 54/100 · grade D
Des Moines publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Des Moines, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 63/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 36.5 in · 1.5 from 35 in | 93/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 133 calendar days | 57/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 185 days/year | 54/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 50.9°F · 16.6° from 67.5°F | 44/100 · D |
| Summer moisture balance | 63.0°F mean dew point | 44/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 36.5 inches/year | 32/100 · F |
Des Moines · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Des Moines is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 22.3°F and warmest-month mean 76.0°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 76.0°F
- Coldest month
- 22.3°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Des Moines sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Des Moines's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 44th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 51st percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 90%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Des Moines is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Des Moines compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Des Moines's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
63 46th percentile score exceeds 46% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Des Moines's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 145 complete annual observations from 1879 to 2025, DES MOINES INTL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.03°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Des Moines primary station fitted change +0.03 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F (-1°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 1.1" | 9.4" | 29.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 36°F (2°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 1.3" | 10.2" | 24.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 2.2" | 4.4" | 19.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 62°F (17°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 4.0" | 1.2" | 5.7 | 0.1 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 5.2" | 0.2" | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| June | 82°F (28°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.7 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 3.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.3 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.8" | 0.5" | 4.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.9" | 2.7" | 17.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.6" | 7.9" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 16, short of 90°F on every date, while 133 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 13°F near January 18.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 22, then returns to freezing around November 11, covering 133 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 26, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 17 at 25%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 113 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 22 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 22°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Des Moines.
Where Des Moines Stands Nationally
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 22°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Des Moines earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 9.4"
8.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.2"
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
9.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
11.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
12.7 days with precipitation
11.7 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
8.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.7"
7.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.9"
7.8 days with precipitation
Des Moines runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Des Moines's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 5.3", on a wide 53.7°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, May, August, taking 40% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 1.1".
- Winter share: 11% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Des Moines's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 113 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 36.5" between them, or roughly 0.32 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Des Moines
Des Moines averages 36.5 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 25 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 36.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 25 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 10% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 18
50% probability date
Growing Season
185 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,178
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,070
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 10.0 | 32% | 44% |
| February | 68% | 10.6 | 25% | 43% |
| March | 59% | 11.3 | 22% | 42% |
| April | 61% | 10.5 | 19% | 41% |
| May | 66% | 8.9 | 17% | 33% |
| June | 68% | 8.5 | 28% | 20% |
| July | 69% | 7.6 | 22% | 21% |
| August | 70% | 7.9 | 34% | 18% |
| September | 65% | 9.0 | 37% | 22% |
| October | 65% | 10.1 | 29% | 36% |
| November | 71% | 10.1 | 25% | 43% |
| December | 74% | 10.1 | 29% | 44% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IA closest to Des Moines on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (51°F here).
- Battle Ground, WA 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Belington, WV 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Blaine, WA 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Bland, VA 51°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (36.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Kingfisher, OK 36.5" · 0.0" off
- San Marcos, TX 36.5" · 0.0" off
- Burleson, TX 36.5" · 0.0" off
- Mullan, ID 36.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Des Moines
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Des Moines's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,178 annual heating degree days against 1,070 for cooling. Its 53.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Des Moines's frost-free season lasts about 185 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Des Moines coldest normal
January
Averaging 22°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Des Moines typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Des Moines snow peak
February
Des Moines averages 36.5 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Des Moines's climate
How much snow does Des Moines get? ▼
How cold does Des Moines get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Des Moines? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Des Moines's primary station: DES MOINES INTL AP (USW00014933). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Des Moines area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 1921000). Match rule for Des Moines: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Des Moines comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.