Little Sioux, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Little Sioux's normal year runs from 9°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 39.8 inches of precipitation and 46 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.9°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,010 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLittle Sioux (2 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00134874
- Location41.83°N 96.05°W
- Elevation1,025 ft (312 m)
- Population170
On October 23, the normal high in Little Sioux is 60°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Little Sioux.
- Jan 29° 9°
- Feb 34° 13°
- Mar 48° 24°
- Apr 62° 35°
- May 73° 48°
- Jun 83° 59°
- Jul 86° 62°
- Aug 83° 60°
- Sep 77° 50°
- Oct 64° 37°
- Nov 48° 24°
- Dec 34° 14°
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 Little Sioux each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.72 in), the least in January (0.92 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 9°F | 19.1°F | 0.92 | 10.0 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 34°F | 13°F | 23.4°F | 1.30 | 13.4 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 48°F | 24°F | 36.1°F | 2.28 | 6.9 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 35°F | 48.2°F | 3.87 | 1.9 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 48°F | 60.1°F | 5.06 | 0.3 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 83°F | 59°F | 70.6°F | 5.72 | 0.0 | 13 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 86°F | 62°F | 73.9°F | 4.85 | 0.0 | 10 | 10 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 83°F | 60°F | 71.8°F | 4.54 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 50°F | 63.7°F | 5.05 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 37°F | 50.8°F | 2.93 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 24°F | 35.8°F | 1.74 | 2.3 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 34°F | 14°F | 23.8°F | 1.50 | 9.8 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 36°F | 48.1°F | 39.76 | 45.6 | 114 | 26 | 165 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −13°C | −7.2°C | 23 mm | 25 cm |
| February | 1°C | −11°C | −4.8°C | 33 mm | 34 cm |
| March | 9°C | −4°C | 2.3°C | 58 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 17°C | 1°C | 9.0°C | 98 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 23°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 129 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 145 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.3°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 10°C | 17.6°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 3°C | 10.4°C | 74 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 9°C | −5°C | 2.1°C | 44 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 1°C | −10°C | −4.6°C | 38 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00134874; 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 Little Sioux?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00134874.
When is the last frost in Little Sioux?
In Little Sioux, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 20 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 155 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 174 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 22 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Little Sioux in zone 5a in ZIP code 51545, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Little Sioux's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Iowa · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00134874; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 Little Sioux?
In a normal year in Little Sioux, 26 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 165 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 165a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 53high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00134874.
How sunny is Little Sioux?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Little Sioux, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.0 |
| February | 74% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.5 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 76% | 3.3 |
| November | 76% | 2.3 |
| December | 69% | 1.7 |
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 Little Sioux need?
A normal year in Little Sioux brings 6,983 heating degree days, 30% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 864 cooling degree days, 5% fewer 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 3,075 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,424 | 0 |
| February | 1,165 | 0 |
| March | 897 | 1 |
| April | 512 | 6 |
| May | 209 | 58 |
| June | 24 | 192 |
| July | 7 | 284 |
| August | 14 | 225 |
| September | 127 | 87 |
| October | 452 | 11 |
| November | 876 | 0 |
| December | 1,277 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,983 | 864 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00134874. 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 Little Sioux been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 51.5°F, 3.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.1°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.3°F | +2.2°F | 42.83 | 48.4 |
| 2022 | 48.1°F | at normal | 27.26 | 22.1 |
| 2023 | 50.3°F | +2.2°F | 43.83 | 40.0 |
| 2024 | 51.5°F | +3.4°F | 38.34 | 28.4 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00134874. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Little Sioux's climate compare?
Little Sioux is warmer than 65 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 125. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.1°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Little Sioux 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 Little Sioux share this climate record?
3 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.
- Oakland, NE1,355 people · 21 mi W
- Herman, NE232 people · 14 mi SW
- Craig, NE200 people · 16 mi W
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 Little Sioux's climate
What is the coldest month in Little Sioux?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Little Sioux?
Yes: 46 inches in a normal year, falling on 29 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (13.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Little Sioux?
June, with 5.72 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.92 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Little Sioux in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Little Sioux in zone 5a in ZIP code 51545, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Little Sioux's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Little Sioux?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Tekamah, NE8 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Onawa, IA17 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Logan, IA19 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Blair, NE19 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made