Oakland, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Oakland's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 36.4 inches of precipitation and 28 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.7°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 29°C, 925 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOakland
- Station IDUSC00136151
- Location41.30°N 95.38°W
- Elevation1,260 ft (384 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population1,519
On October 23, the normal high in Oakland is 61°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Oakland.
- Jan 30° 12°
- Feb 35° 16°
- Mar 49° 27°
- Apr 62° 37°
- May 72° 50°
- Jun 82° 61°
- Jul 85° 64°
- Aug 83° 62°
- Sep 77° 53°
- Oct 64° 41°
- Nov 48° 28°
- Dec 35° 17°
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 Oakland each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.42 in), the least in January (0.85 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 12°F | 20.9°F | 0.85 | 6.7 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 35°F | 16°F | 25.3°F | 1.07 | 8.0 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 27°F | 37.7°F | 1.99 | 3.4 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 37°F | 49.3°F | 3.90 | 1.1 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 72°F | 50°F | 60.9°F | 5.42 | 0.1 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 61°F | 71.0°F | 5.28 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 85°F | 64°F | 74.4°F | 3.58 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 62°F | 72.4°F | 4.87 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 53°F | 64.8°F | 3.62 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 41°F | 52.3°F | 2.97 | 1.0 | 8 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 28°F | 37.8°F | 1.57 | 1.2 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 17°F | 26.1°F | 1.31 | 6.5 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 39°F | 49.4°F | 36.43 | 28.0 | 97 | 20 | 148 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −11°C | −6.2°C | 22 mm | 17 cm |
| February | 2°C | −9°C | −3.7°C | 27 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 9°C | −3°C | 3.2°C | 51 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.6°C | 99 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.1°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.6°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 124 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.3°C | 75 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 40 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −3.3°C | 33 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00136151; 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 Oakland?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00136151.
When is the last frost in Oakland?
In Oakland, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 5 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 231 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 141 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 174 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 193 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Oakland in zone 5b in ZIP code 51560, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Oakland's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (24 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 USC00136151; 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 Oakland?
In a normal year in Oakland, 20 days a year reach 90°F, 148 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 97 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 20a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 148a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 51high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 97a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 8a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1919) is 116°F, on July 25, 1936; the lowest is −31°F, on January 12, 1974.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 47.19 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 54.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00136151; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00136151. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Oakland?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Oakland, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.0 |
| February | 74% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 3.8 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.5 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 75% | 3.2 |
| November | 74% | 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 Oakland need?
A normal year in Oakland brings 6,555 heating degree days, 22% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 914 cooling degree days, 1% more 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 3,216 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,366 | 0 |
| February | 1,112 | 0 |
| March | 846 | 1 |
| April | 476 | 7 |
| May | 185 | 58 |
| June | 22 | 202 |
| July | 4 | 294 |
| August | 9 | 240 |
| September | 107 | 100 |
| October | 407 | 12 |
| November | 815 | 0 |
| December | 1,206 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,555 | 914 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00136151. 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 Oakland been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.5°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.1°F | +1.7°F | 31.35 | 30.8 |
| 2022 | 48.8°F | −0.6°F | 25.76 | 12.5 |
| 2023 | 51.5°F | +2.1°F | 26.02 | 15.4 |
| 2024 | 52.1°F | +2.7°F | 32.02 | 17.4 |
| 2025 | 50.5°F | +1.1°F | 27.62 | 18.5 |
Over 67 complete years from 1921 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00136151; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Oakland's climate compare?
Oakland is warmer than 95 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 59. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.4°F is warmer than 38%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Oakland 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 Oakland 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.
- Griswold, IA975 people · 14 mi E
- Carson, IA772 people · 5 mi S
- Macedonia, IA266 people · 8 mi S
- Hancock, IA199 people · 6 mi N
- Henderson, IA140 people · 12 mi S
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 Oakland's climate
What is the coldest month in Oakland?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Oakland?
Yes: 28 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Oakland?
May, with 5.42 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.85 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Oakland in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Oakland in zone 5b in ZIP code 51560, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Oakland's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Oakland?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 5. Waiting until May 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Atlantic, IA21 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Red Oak, IA22 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Harlan, IA24 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Omaha, NE27 miles from this station, 52.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made