Tipton, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tipton's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 36.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.6°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 29°C, 927 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTipton
- Station IDUSC00138266
- Location41.78°N 91.13°W
- Elevation820 ft (250 m)
- Population3,059
On October 23, the normal high in Tipton is 61°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tipton.
- Jan 29° 12°
- Feb 33° 16°
- Mar 47° 28°
- Apr 61° 38°
- May 72° 51°
- Jun 82° 61°
- Jul 84° 64°
- Aug 82° 61°
- Sep 77° 53°
- Oct 64° 41°
- Nov 48° 29°
- Dec 34° 19°
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 Tipton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.74 in), the least in January (1.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 12°F | 20.3°F | 1.41 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 33°F | 16°F | 24.6°F | 1.45 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 28°F | 37.2°F | 2.14 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 38°F | 49.5°F | 3.79 | 9 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 72°F | 51°F | 61.2°F | 4.74 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 61°F | 71.2°F | 4.74 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 64°F | 73.8°F | 4.08 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 61°F | 71.6°F | 3.83 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 53°F | 64.8°F | 3.46 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 41°F | 52.2°F | 3.11 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 29°F | 38.5°F | 2.19 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 34°F | 19°F | 26.3°F | 1.55 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 39°F | 49.3°F | 36.49 | 93 | 9 | 150 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −11°C | −6.5°C | 36 mm |
| February | 1°C | −9°C | −4.1°C | 37 mm |
| March | 8°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 54 mm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.7°C | 96 mm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 120 mm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 120 mm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.2°C | 104 mm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.0°C | 97 mm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 88 mm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 79 mm |
| November | 9°C | −2°C | 3.6°C | 56 mm |
| December | 1°C | −7°C | −3.2°C | 39 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Lowden (12 miles away), gets 40 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00138266; 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 Tipton?
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 (7).
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 USC00138266.
When is the last frost in Tipton?
In Tipton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 21 in half of years and after May 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 1 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 211 year in 10 after May 4; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 195 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tipton in zone 5a in ZIP code 52772, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Tipton's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (19 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 USC00138266; 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 Tipton?
In a normal year in Tipton, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 150 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 93 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 150a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 58high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 93a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 108°F, on July 3, 1911; the lowest is −30°F, on January 22, 1930.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 52.49 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 62.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00138266; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00138266. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Tipton?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tipton, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.9 |
| February | 71% | 2.9 |
| March | 69% | 3.8 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 72% | 3.0 |
| November | 70% | 2.1 |
| December | 63% | 1.5 |
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 Tipton need?
A normal year in Tipton brings 6,573 heating degree days, 22% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 882 cooling degree days, 3% 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 3,168 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,386 | 0 |
| February | 1,130 | 0 |
| March | 862 | 1 |
| April | 475 | 9 |
| May | 180 | 63 |
| June | 23 | 210 |
| July | 2 | 275 |
| August | 9 | 213 |
| September | 101 | 97 |
| October | 409 | 14 |
| November | 795 | 0 |
| December | 1,201 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,573 | 882 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00138266. 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.
How does Tipton's climate compare?
Tipton is warmer than 92 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 63. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.3°F is warmer than 37%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tipton 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 Tipton share this climate record?
4 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.
- Mechanicsville, IA974 people · 11 mi NW
- Stanwood, IA612 people · 8 mi N
- Bennett, IA330 people · 8 mi E
- Rochester, IA45 people · 7 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 Tipton's climate
What is the coldest month in Tipton?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Tipton?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Tipton's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Lowden (12 miles away), records 40 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Tipton?
May, with 4.74 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tipton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tipton in zone 5a in ZIP code 52772, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Tipton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Tipton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 21; in one year in ten it comes after May 4. Waiting until May 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lowden, IA12 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Iowa City, IA24 miles from this station, 51.0°F a year
- Anamosa, IA24 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Illinois City, IL25 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made