Vinton, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Vinton's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 37.9 inches of precipitation and 34 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.8°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 27°C, 963 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationVinton
- Station IDUSC00138568
- Location42.17°N 92.01°W
- Elevation850 ft (259 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population4,962
On October 23, the normal high in Vinton is 57°F and the normal low 35°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 Vinton.
- Jan 26° 8°
- Feb 30° 12°
- Mar 44° 24°
- Apr 59° 35°
- May 69° 47°
- Jun 78° 57°
- Jul 81° 60°
- Aug 79° 58°
- Sep 74° 50°
- Oct 60° 37°
- Nov 44° 25°
- Dec 31° 15°
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 Vinton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.62 in), the least in January (1.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 8°F | 16.9°F | 1.19 | 8.3 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 30°F | 12°F | 21.3°F | 1.25 | 8.5 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 24°F | 34.1°F | 2.05 | 4.4 | 8 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 35°F | 46.8°F | 3.90 | 1.4 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 47°F | 58.0°F | 5.01 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 57°F | 67.5°F | 5.62 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 81°F | 60°F | 70.8°F | 4.15 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 58°F | 68.5°F | 4.22 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 50°F | 61.5°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 37°F | 48.8°F | 3.22 | 0.4 | 8 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 44°F | 25°F | 34.7°F | 2.05 | 1.8 | 6 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 31°F | 15°F | 22.7°F | 1.59 | 8.8 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 36°F | 46.0°F | 37.93 | 33.6 | 104 | 11 | 145 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −13°C | −8.4°C | 30 mm | 21 cm |
| February | −1°C | −11°C | −5.9°C | 32 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 7°C | −5°C | 1.2°C | 52 mm | 11 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 99 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 143 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.3°C | 82 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 7°C | −4°C | 1.5°C | 52 mm | 5 cm |
| December | −1°C | −10°C | −5.2°C | 40 mm | 22 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00138568; 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 Vinton?
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 (9).
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 USC00138568.
When is the last frost in Vinton?
In Vinton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 17 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 31 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 169 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 25 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Vinton in zone 5a in ZIP code 52349, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Vinton's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (30 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 USC00138568; 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 Vinton?
In a normal year in Vinton, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 145 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 104 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 145a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 56high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 104a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1904) is 105°F, on July 30, 1955; the lowest is −35°F, on January 31, 2019.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 54.91 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 66.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00138568; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00138568. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Vinton?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Vinton, 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 Vinton need?
A normal year in Vinton brings 7,441 heating degree days, 39% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 540 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,581 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,493 | 0 |
| February | 1,222 | 0 |
| March | 958 | 0 |
| April | 549 | 3 |
| May | 249 | 32 |
| June | 46 | 120 |
| July | 11 | 191 |
| August | 28 | 137 |
| September | 158 | 53 |
| October | 508 | 4 |
| November | 909 | 0 |
| December | 1,310 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,441 | 540 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00138568. 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 Vinton been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 49.8°F, 3.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.0°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 49.8°F | +3.8°F | 22.07 | 19.2 |
Over 60 complete years from 1943 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00138568; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Vinton's climate compare?
Vinton is warmer than 17 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 92. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.0°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Vinton is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Vinton share this climate record?
10 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.
- Center Point, IA2,578 people · 12 mi E
- La Porte City, IA2,267 people · 14 mi NW
- Urbana, IA1,635 people · 8 mi NE
- Dysart, IA1,266 people · 15 mi W
- Shellsburg, IA987 people · 9 mi SE
- Newhall, IA887 people · 12 mi S
- Van Horne, IA768 people · 12 mi S
- Garrison, IA345 people · 7 mi W
- Brandon, IA331 people · 10 mi N
- Mount Auburn, IA162 people · 7 mi NW
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 Vinton's climate
What is the coldest month in Vinton?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Vinton?
Yes: 34 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (8.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Vinton?
June, with 5.62 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Vinton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Vinton in zone 5a in ZIP code 52349, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Vinton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Vinton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Marion, IA23 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Belle Plaine, IA24 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Cedar Rapids, IA25 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Independence, IA25 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made