Fort Madison, 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 Fort Madison's primary NOAA station, FT MADISON.
The climate verdict for Fort Madison
Fort Madison, Iowa has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 52°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 52°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 39.4"
- annual precipitation · 18" snow
- 196 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Fort Madison: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00133007 · Fort Madison, IA 52°F mean · 39.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,431
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Sheridan Lake
- PRCP-MID 39.4"
- SWING-WIDE 52°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,731 HDD
- STN-1 USC00133007
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Sheridan Lake, CO (+ 0.1 °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.
- Fort Madison (this station) 52°F
- Cold Chicago Midway, IL 52°F
- Hot Benkelman, NE 52°F
- Near Sheridan Lake, CO 52°F
- Near Rantoul, IL 52°F
Climate Living Index · Fort Madison
Fort Madison: 62/100 · grade C
Fort Madison publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Fort Madison, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 39.4 in · 4.4 from 35 in | 84/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 121 calendar days | 64/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 196 days/year | 61/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 18.1 inches/year | 51/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 52.2°F · 15.3° from 67.5°F | 50/100 · D |
Fort Madison · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Fort Madison is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 24.8°F and warmest-month mean 76.3°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
- 76.3°F
- Coldest month
- 24.8°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 Fort Madison sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Fort Madison's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 50th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 57th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 85%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Fort Madison is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Fort Madison compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Fort Madison's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% 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
Fort Madison's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 57 complete annual observations from 1955 to 2022, FT MADISON warmed at a fitted rate of 0.13°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Fort Madison primary station fitted change +0.13 °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 | 33°F (0°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 1.7" | 6.1" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 38°F (3°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 1.9" | 4.6" | 23.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 50°F (10°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 2.7" | 1.7" | 15.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 62°F (17°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 4.0" | 0.5" | 3.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 5.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| June | 82°F (28°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 5.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.1 |
| July | 85°F (30°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.8 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.1" | 0.1" | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 50°F (10°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 2.4" | 0.8" | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 38°F (3°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 1.9" | 4.3" | 24.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 14, short of 90°F on every date, while 121 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 16°F near January 19.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 17, then returns to freezing around November 18, covering 121 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 April 30, when 42% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 23 at 25%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 111 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 17 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 20°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Fort Madison.
Where Fort Madison Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Fort Madison 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: 6.1"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
8.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.7"
9.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
11.6 days with precipitation
12.5 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
9.3 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
8.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
8.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.3"
8.0 days with precipitation
Fort Madison spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 33% of the annual total and December through February 14%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Fort Madison has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 51.5°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 5.2" and January 1.7". The three wettest months together take 36% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Fort Madison, it arrives in quantity
39.4" of precipitation falls across only about 111 wet days here, averaging 0.36 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 111 a year, 30% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.36 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 13
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 7
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Fort Madison
Fort Madison averages 18.1 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 12 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: 18.1 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 12 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 5% 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 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 12
50% probability date
Growing Season
196 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,731
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,119
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IA closest to Fort Madison 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 (52°F here).
- Ashland, OR 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Athens, WV 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Corvallis, OR 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Crescent City, CA 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (39.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Meeker, OK 39.4" · 0.0" off
- West Allis, WI 39.4" · 0.0" off
- Crystal Lake, IL 39.4" · 0.0" off
- Elizabeth, IL 39.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Fort Madison
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Fort Madison's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,731 annual heating degree days against 1,119 for cooling. Its 51.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Fort Madison's frost-free season lasts about 196 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Fort Madison coldest normal
January
Averaging 25°F (-4°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Fort Madison typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Fort Madison snow peak
January
Fort Madison averages 18.1 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Fort Madison's climate
How much snow does Fort Madison get? ▼
How cold does Fort Madison get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Fort Madison? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Fort Madison's primary station: FT MADISON (USC00133007). 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 1928605). Match rule for Fort Madison: 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 Fort Madison 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.