Toledo, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Toledo's normal year runs from 9°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 35.3 inches of precipitation and 33 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.5°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 28°C, 895 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationToledo (3 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00138296
- Location42.04°N 92.58°W
- Elevation935 ft (285 m)
- Population2,372
On October 23, the normal high in Toledo is 58°F and the normal low 36°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 Toledo.
- Jan 27° 9°
- Feb 32° 13°
- Mar 45° 25°
- Apr 59° 36°
- May 70° 48°
- Jun 80° 59°
- Jul 83° 62°
- Aug 81° 59°
- Sep 75° 51°
- Oct 62° 39°
- Nov 46° 27°
- Dec 33° 16°
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 Toledo each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.60 in), the least in January (0.98 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 9°F | 18.1°F | 0.98 | 8.6 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 32°F | 13°F | 22.4°F | 1.01 | 7.9 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 25°F | 34.9°F | 1.79 | 4.2 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 36°F | 47.5°F | 3.51 | 1.1 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 48°F | 59.2°F | 4.80 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 59°F | 69.2°F | 5.60 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 83°F | 62°F | 72.5°F | 4.05 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 59°F | 70.2°F | 3.99 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 51°F | 62.9°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 2.82 | 0.4 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 27°F | 36.3°F | 2.02 | 1.8 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 16°F | 24.2°F | 1.20 | 8.6 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 37°F | 47.3°F | 35.25 | 32.8 | 103 | 12 | 152 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −13°C | −7.7°C | 25 mm | 22 cm |
| February | 0°C | −10°C | −5.3°C | 26 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 45 mm | 11 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 89 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 15.1°C | 122 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 20.7°C | 142 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.5°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.2°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 72 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −3°C | 2.4°C | 51 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 0°C | −9°C | −4.3°C | 30 mm | 22 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00138296; 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 Toledo?
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 USC00138296.
When is the last frost in Toledo?
In Toledo, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 26 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 301 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Toledo in zone 5a in ZIP code 52342, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Toledo's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (28 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 USC00138296; 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 Toledo?
In a normal year in Toledo, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 152 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 152a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 59high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1894) is 109°F, on July 24, 1901; the lowest is −34°F, on February 3, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 59.39 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 58.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00138296; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00138296. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Toledo?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Toledo, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 1.9 |
| February | 76% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 69% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 71% | 3.0 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 66% | 1.6 |
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 Toledo need?
A normal year in Toledo brings 7,115 heating degree days, 32% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 704 cooling degree days, 22% 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 2,849 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,454 | 0 |
| February | 1,194 | 0 |
| March | 935 | 1 |
| April | 530 | 3 |
| May | 223 | 42 |
| June | 32 | 158 |
| July | 7 | 238 |
| August | 19 | 180 |
| September | 134 | 73 |
| October | 460 | 9 |
| November | 861 | 0 |
| December | 1,265 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,115 | 704 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00138296. 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 Toledo been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 50.6°F, 3.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.3°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.1°F | +1.8°F | 29.84 | 35.1 |
| 2022 | 46.3°F | −1.0°F | 27.30 | 29.5 |
| 2023 | 49.9°F | +2.6°F | 23.90 | 22.1 |
| 2024 | 50.6°F | +3.4°F | 38.20 | 32.1 |
Over 112 complete years from 1896 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00138296; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Toledo's climate compare?
Toledo is warmer than 54 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 42. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.3°F is warmer than 29%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Toledo 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 Toledo share this climate record?
6 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.
- Tama, IA2,997 people · 5 mi S
- Traer, IA1,547 people · 12 mi NE
- Le Grand, IA891 people · 10 mi W
- Garwin, IA469 people · 6 mi NW
- Clutier, IA209 people · 10 mi E
- Montour, IA199 people · 8 mi SW
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 Toledo's climate
What is the coldest month in Toledo?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Toledo?
Yes: 33 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Toledo?
June, with 5.60 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.98 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Toledo in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Toledo in zone 5a in ZIP code 52342, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Toledo's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Toledo?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Marshalltown, IA18 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Belle Plaine, IA19 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Grinnell, IA24 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Grundy Center, IA24 miles from this station, 47.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made