Iowa City Muni, IA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Iowa City Muni's primary NOAA station, IOWA CITY MUNI AP.
The climate verdict for Iowa City Muni
Iowa City Muni, 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 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 51°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 35.7"
- yearly precipitation total
- 180 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Iowa City Muni: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00014937 · Iowa City Muni, IA 51°F mean · 35.7" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 51°F
- RANK-MID #3,087
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hastings
- PRCP-MID 35.7"
- SWING-WIDE 53°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,114 HDD
- STN-1 USW00014937
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Hastings, NE (+ 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.
- Iowa City (this station) 51°F
- Cold Geneseo, IL 51°F
- Hot Crete, NE 51°F
- Near Hastings, NE 51°F
- Near Cambridge, NE 51°F
Climate Living Index · Iowa City Muni
Iowa City Muni: 60/100 · grade C
Iowa City Muni publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Iowa City Muni, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 35.7 in · 0.7 from 35 in | 95/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 132 calendar days | 58/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 180 days/year | 50/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 51.0°F · 16.5° from 67.5°F | 45/100 · D |
Iowa City Muni · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Iowa City Muni is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 22.8°F and warmest-month mean 75.8°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
- 75.8°F
- Coldest month
- 22.8°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 Iowa City Muni sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Iowa City Muni's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 45th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 49th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 88%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Iowa City Muni is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Iowa City Muni compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Iowa City Muni's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F (-1°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 1.0" | 29.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 36°F (2°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 1.2" | 25.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 50°F (10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 2.2" | 21.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 3.8" | 6.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 73°F (23°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 4.5" | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 5.3" | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 3.9" | 0.0 | 7.4 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 3.9" | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| September | 78°F (25°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 3.2" | 0.1 | 2.4 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 3.0" | 5.7 | 0.1 |
| November | 49°F (10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 2.2" | 19.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.4" | 27.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 11, short of 90°F on every date, while 132 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near January 19.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 22, then returns to freezing around November 12, covering 132 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 43% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 16 at 22%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 115 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 19 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 24°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Iowa City Muni.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
6.4 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
9.3 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
13.1 days with precipitation
12.2 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
Iowa City Muni runs a summer-peaked wet season
37% of Iowa City Muni'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°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 38% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 1.0".
- Winter share: 10% 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 Iowa City Muni's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 115 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 35.7" between them, or roughly 0.31 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 18
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 21
50% probability date
Growing Season
180 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,114
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,045
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IA closest to Iowa City Muni 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).
- Deseret, UT 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Elwood, IN 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Gothenburg, NE 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Hastings, NE 51°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (35.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Maple City, MI 35.7" · 0.0" off
- Dripping Springs, TX 35.7" · 0.0" off
- Falls City, NE 35.6" · 0.0" off
- Ridgeland, WI 35.6" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Iowa City Muni's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Iowa City Muni's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,114 annual heating degree days against 1,045 for cooling. Its 53.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Iowa City Muni's frost-free season lasts about 180 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Iowa City Muni's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 53.0°F. The annual average is 51°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Iowa City Muni's 35.7 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Iowa City Muni's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Iowa City Muni, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Iowa City Muni's climate
How much rain does Iowa City Muni get? ▼
How cold does Iowa City Muni get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Iowa City Muni? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Iowa City Muni's primary station: IOWA CITY MUNI AP (USW00014937). 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 Iowa City Muni; 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 Iowa City Muni 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.