Donnellson, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Donnellson's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 39.2 inches of precipitation and 27 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.9°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 30°C, 996 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDonnellson
- Station IDUSC00132299
- Location40.65°N 91.56°W
- Elevation705 ft (215 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population859
On October 23, the normal high in Donnellson is 62°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Donnellson.
- Jan 33° 15°
- Feb 38° 19°
- Mar 51° 29°
- Apr 63° 40°
- May 73° 52°
- Jun 83° 62°
- Jul 86° 65°
- Aug 85° 63°
- Sep 79° 54°
- Oct 65° 43°
- Nov 51° 31°
- Dec 38° 21°
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 Donnellson each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.01 in), the least in January (1.48 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 15°F | 24.0°F | 1.48 | 7.3 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 38°F | 19°F | 28.4°F | 1.89 | 7.4 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 51°F | 29°F | 40.0°F | 2.56 | 3.0 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 40°F | 51.7°F | 3.72 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 52°F | 62.6°F | 5.01 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 83°F | 62°F | 72.4°F | 4.98 | 0.0 | 10 | 6 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 86°F | 65°F | 75.8°F | 4.24 | 0.0 | 9 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 85°F | 63°F | 74.2°F | 3.88 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 54°F | 66.4°F | 3.92 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 43°F | 54.2°F | 3.09 | 0.3 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 31°F | 40.8°F | 2.50 | 1.5 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| December | 38°F | 21°F | 29.3°F | 1.96 | 6.4 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 41°F | 51.7°F | 39.23 | 26.6 | 104 | 30 | 129 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.4°C | 38 mm | 19 cm |
| February | 3°C | −7°C | −2.0°C | 48 mm | 19 cm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.4°C | 65 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 94 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 23°C | 11°C | 17.0°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 12°C | 19.1°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 6°C | 12.3°C | 78 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 10°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 64 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.5°C | 50 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00132299; 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 Donnellson?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. 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 USC00132299.
When is the last frost in Donnellson?
In Donnellson, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 17 in half of years and after May 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 22 in half of years and before October 10 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 171 year in 10 after May 1; 9 in 10 after April 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 221 year in 10 before October 10; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 187 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 208 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 7 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Donnellson in zone 6a in ZIP code 52625, 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 USC00132299; 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 Donnellson?
In a normal year in Donnellson, 30 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 129 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 104 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 30a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 129a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 40high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 104a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00132299.
How sunny is Donnellson?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Donnellson, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (82%) and January the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.9 |
| February | 68% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 78% | 6.3 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 73% | 3.2 |
| November | 71% | 2.2 |
| December | 64% | 1.6 |
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 Donnellson need?
A normal year in Donnellson brings 5,910 heating degree days, 10% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,089 cooling degree days, 20% more 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 3,540 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,269 | 0 |
| February | 1,025 | 0 |
| March | 779 | 2 |
| April | 409 | 8 |
| May | 148 | 75 |
| June | 9 | 233 |
| July | 2 | 338 |
| August | 3 | 290 |
| September | 79 | 122 |
| October | 355 | 20 |
| November | 727 | 1 |
| December | 1,107 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,910 | 1,089 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00132299. 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 Donnellson been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.7°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.0°F | +1.3°F | 40.04 | 24.2 |
| 2022 | 50.6°F | −1.1°F | 30.13 | 31.3 |
| 2023 | 53.7°F | +2.0°F | 36.33 | – |
| 2024 | 54.2°F | +2.5°F | 42.48 | 22.2 |
| 2025 | 52.7°F | +1.0°F | 37.03 | 26.8 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00132299. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Donnellson's climate compare?
Donnellson is warmer than 127 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 117. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.7°F is warmer than 48%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Donnellson 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 Donnellson share this climate record?
9 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.
- Kahoka, MO1,973 people · 17 mi SW
- West Point, IA903 people · 8 mi NE
- Farmington, IA583 people · 9 mi W
- Franklin, IA133 people · 3 mi NE
- Houghton, IA129 people · 10 mi N
- Medill, MO121 people · 18 mi SW
- St. Paul, IA105 people · 9 mi N
- Argyle, IA93 people · 8 mi S
- Revere, MO75 people · 12 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 Donnellson's climate
What is the coldest month in Donnellson?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Donnellson?
Yes: 27 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (7.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Donnellson?
May, with 5.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.48 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Donnellson in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Donnellson in zone 6a in ZIP code 52625, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Donnellson?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 1. Waiting until May 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fort Madison, IA12 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- Keokuk, IA20 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Mount Pleasant, IA21 miles from this station, 49.6°F a year
- Keosauqua, IA22 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made