Dubuque Rgnl, IA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Dubuque Rgnl's primary NOAA station, DUBUQUE RGNL AP.
The climate verdict for Dubuque Rgnl
Dubuque Rgnl, Iowa has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 47°F. Its climate comfort score of 59/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 37% of station-mapped location scores.
- 47°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 59/100
- comfort score, above 37% of station-mapped location scores
- 38.2"
- annual precipitation · 43" snow
- 166 days
- frost-free growing season
Dubuque Rgnl: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00094908 · Dubuque Rgnl, IA 47°F mean · 38.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 47°F
- RANK-COOL #1,921
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Oconomowoc Wwtp
- PRCP-MID 38.2"
- SWING-WIDE 53°F
- COMF-MID 59/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,084 HDD
- STN-1 USW00094908
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Oconomowoc Wwtp, WI (+ 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.
- Dubuque Rgnl (this station) 47°F
- Hot Lone Rock Tri C…, WI 47°F
- Near Oconomowoc Wwtp, WI 47°F
- Near UW Arboretum -…, WI 47°F
- Near Dinosaur Nation…, CO 47°F
Climate Living Index · Dubuque Rgnl
Dubuque Rgnl: 46/100 · grade D
Dubuque Rgnl publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Dubuque Rgnl, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 59/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 38.2 in · 3.2 from 35 in | 88/100 · A |
| Summer moisture balance | 61.7°F mean dew point | 51/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 147 calendar days | 49/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 166 days/year | 38/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.2°F · 20.3° from 67.5°F | 28/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 42.5 inches/year | 25/100 · F |
Dubuque Rgnl · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Dubuque Rgnl is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 18.8°F and warmest-month mean 71.7°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
- 71.7°F
- Coldest month
- 18.8°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 Dubuque Rgnl sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Dubuque Rgnl's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 72%
- Among 6,861 stations, Dubuque Rgnl sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 54th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 88%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Dubuque Rgnl is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Dubuque Rgnl compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Dubuque Rgnl's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
59 37th percentile score exceeds 37% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 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
Dubuque Rgnl's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 169 complete annual observations from 1851 to 2025, DUBUQUE RGNL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.08°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Dubuque Rgnl primary station fitted change +0.08 °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 | 27°F (-3°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 1.3" | 10.7" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 31°F (-1°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 1.6" | 10.6" | 26.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (7°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 2.3" | 5.7" | 22.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 47°F (9°C) | 4.1" | 1.9" | 8.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 4.3" | 0.0" | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 5.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| August | 80°F (26°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| October | 60°F (16°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 2.9" | 0.5" | 6.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 45°F (7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 2.2" | 2.8" | 20.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 32°F (0°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 1.8" | 10.3" | 28.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 82°F around July 8, short of 90°F on every date, while 147 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 10°F near January 19.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 31, then returns to freezing around November 6, covering 147 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 25, when 42% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 4 at 28%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 119 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 23 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 Dubuque Rgnl.
Where Dubuque Rgnl Stands Nationally
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 22°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Dubuque Rgnl 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: 10.7"
9.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.6"
8.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.7"
10.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.9"
11.4 days with precipitation
13.0 days with precipitation
12.2 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
8.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.8"
8.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.3"
9.1 days with precipitation
Dubuque Rgnl runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Dubuque Rgnl'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 5.2", on a wide 52.9°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, July, May, taking 37% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 1.3".
- Winter share: 12% 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 Dubuque Rgnl's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 118 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 38.2" 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 Dubuque Rgnl
Dubuque Rgnl averages 42.5 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 29 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: 42.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 29 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 11% 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 11
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 28
50% probability date
Growing Season
166 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,084
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
638
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 | 78% | 10.7 | 44% | 40% |
| February | 74% | 11.1 | 45% | 40% |
| March | 65% | 11.9 | 45% | 34% |
| April | 64% | 11.0 | 47% | 30% |
| May | 69% | 9.1 | 48% | 22% |
| June | 73% | 7.9 | 55% | 13% |
| July | 76% | 7.0 | 59% | 12% |
| August | 77% | 7.5 | 63% | 14% |
| September | 71% | 9.1 | 61% | 21% |
| October | 72% | 10.6 | 51% | 35% |
| November | 78% | 10.8 | 46% | 41% |
| December | 80% | 10.8 | 46% | 42% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IA closest to Dubuque Rgnl 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 (47°F here).
- Amboy, MN 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Burton, MI 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Concord, NH 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Fort Atkinson, WI 47°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (38.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Fremont, OH 38.2" · 0.0" off
- Glens Falls, NY 38.2" · 0.0" off
- Canton, NY 38.2" · 0.0" off
- Guthrie, OK 38.2" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Dubuque Rgnl
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Dubuque Rgnl's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,084 annual heating degree days against 638 for cooling. Its 52.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Dubuque Rgnl's frost-free season lasts about 166 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Dubuque Rgnl coldest normal
January
Averaging 19°F (-7°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Dubuque Rgnl typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Dubuque Rgnl snow peak
January
Dubuque Rgnl averages 42.5 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Dubuque Rgnl's climate
How much snow does Dubuque Rgnl get? ▼
How cold does Dubuque Rgnl get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Dubuque Rgnl? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Dubuque Rgnl's primary station: DUBUQUE RGNL AP (USW00094908). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Dubuque Rgnl; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Dubuque Rgnl 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.