Maquoketa, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Maquoketa's normal year runs from 11°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 36.7 inches of precipitation and 30 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.8°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 932 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMaquoketa
- Station IDUSC00135131
- Location42.08°N 90.66°W
- Elevation668 ft (204 m)
- Population6,064
On October 23, the normal high in Maquoketa is 58°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Maquoketa.
- Jan 27° 11°
- Feb 31° 15°
- Mar 45° 26°
- Apr 59° 37°
- May 70° 49°
- Jun 79° 60°
- Jul 82° 63°
- Aug 81° 61°
- Sep 75° 52°
- Oct 62° 40°
- Nov 46° 28°
- Dec 33° 18°
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 Maquoketa each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 11°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.09 in), the least in January (1.32 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 11°F | 19.0°F | 1.32 | 8.4 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 31°F | 15°F | 23.1°F | 1.65 | 8.0 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 26°F | 35.5°F | 2.22 | 3.8 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 37°F | 47.8°F | 3.44 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 49°F | 59.8°F | 4.21 | 0.1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 79°F | 60°F | 69.6°F | 5.09 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 82°F | 63°F | 72.5°F | 4.15 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 61°F | 70.6°F | 4.18 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 52°F | 63.2°F | 3.64 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 40°F | 50.7°F | 2.93 | 0.3 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 28°F | 37.2°F | 2.08 | 1.7 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 18°F | 25.3°F | 1.78 | 7.1 | 9 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 38°F | 47.9°F | 36.69 | 30.3 | 109 | 10 | 153 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −11°C | −7.2°C | 34 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 0°C | −9°C | −4.9°C | 42 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 7°C | −3°C | 1.9°C | 56 mm | 10 cm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 8.8°C | 87 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 21°C | 10°C | 15.4°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.5°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 11°C | 17.3°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.4°C | 74 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 53 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 0°C | −8°C | −3.7°C | 45 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00135131; 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 Maquoketa?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00135131.
When is the last frost in Maquoketa?
In Maquoketa, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 25 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 14 in half of years and before September 30 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 251 year in 10 after May 9; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 141 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 171 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 191 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 14 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Maquoketa in zone 5a in ZIP code 52060, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Maquoketa's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (29 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 USC00135131; 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 Maquoketa?
In a normal year in Maquoketa, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 153 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 109 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 153a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 58high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 109a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1896) is 108°F, on July 24, 1901; the lowest is −37°F, on January 17, 2009.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 48.64 in; the snowiest season is 1974–75, with 58.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00135131; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00135131. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Maquoketa?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Maquoketa, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.8 |
| February | 71% | 2.8 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 68% | 2.0 |
| December | 61% | 1.4 |
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 Maquoketa need?
A normal year in Maquoketa brings 6,943 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 737 cooling degree days, 19% 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 2,902 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,424 | 0 |
| February | 1,172 | 0 |
| March | 917 | 0 |
| April | 520 | 4 |
| May | 212 | 51 |
| June | 31 | 169 |
| July | 7 | 241 |
| August | 14 | 188 |
| September | 130 | 76 |
| October | 451 | 9 |
| November | 834 | 0 |
| December | 1,232 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,943 | 737 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00135131. 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 Maquoketa been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 49.6°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.9°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.6°F | +1.7°F | 31.09 | 34.1 |
Over 73 complete years from 1897 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00135131; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Maquoketa's climate compare?
Maquoketa is warmer than 62 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 67. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.9°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Maquoketa 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 Maquoketa share this climate record?
5 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.
- Delmar, IA541 people · 6 mi SE
- Andrew, IA374 people · 6 mi NE
- Monmouth, IA129 people · 11 mi W
- Welton, IA124 people · 12 mi S
- Baldwin, IA99 people · 9 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 Maquoketa's climate
What is the coldest month in Maquoketa?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 11°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Maquoketa?
Yes: 30 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Maquoketa?
June, with 5.09 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.32 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Maquoketa in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Maquoketa in zone 5a in ZIP code 52060, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Maquoketa's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Maquoketa?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 25; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bellevue, IA18 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Lowden, IA20 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Dubuque, IA22 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Cascade, IA24 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made