Waukon, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Waukon's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 39.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.4°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 27°C, 995 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWaukon
- Station IDUSC00138755
- Location43.27°N 91.47°W
- Elevation1,275 ft (389 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population3,799
On October 23, the normal high in Waukon is 55°F and the normal low 36°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Waukon.
- Jan 24° 8°
- Feb 29° 12°
- Mar 42° 23°
- Apr 56° 34°
- May 68° 46°
- Jun 77° 58°
- Jul 81° 62°
- Aug 79° 59°
- Sep 72° 51°
- Oct 59° 39°
- Nov 43° 27°
- Dec 29° 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 Waukon 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 (5.92 in), the least in January (1.23 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 8°F | 16.2°F | 1.23 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 29°F | 12°F | 20.5°F | 1.25 | – | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 23°F | 32.2°F | 2.03 | – | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 34°F | 45.0°F | 4.06 | – | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 46°F | 56.6°F | 4.66 | – | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 77°F | 58°F | 67.5°F | 5.92 | – | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 81°F | 62°F | 71.5°F | 4.73 | – | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 59°F | 69.1°F | 4.70 | – | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 51°F | 61.4°F | 3.92 | – | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 39°F | 48.7°F | 2.85 | – | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 27°F | 34.5°F | 2.27 | – | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 15°F | 22.2°F | 1.57 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 36°F | 45.4°F | 39.19 | – | 8 | 160 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −13°C | −8.8°C | 31 mm |
| February | −2°C | −11°C | −6.4°C | 32 mm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | 0.1°C | 52 mm |
| April | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 103 mm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.7°C | 118 mm |
| June | 25°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 150 mm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 120 mm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 119 mm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 100 mm |
| October | 15°C | 4°C | 9.3°C | 72 mm |
| November | 6°C | −3°C | 1.4°C | 58 mm |
| December | −1°C | −9°C | −5.4°C | 40 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Postville (13 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 USC00138755; 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 Waukon?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00138755.
When is the last frost in Waukon?
In Waukon, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 11 in half of years and before September 28 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 21 year in 10 after May 16; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 161 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Waukon in zone 5a in ZIP code 52172, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Iowa · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00138755; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Waukon?
In a normal year in Waukon, 8 days a year reach 90°F and 160 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 160a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 69high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1934) is 106°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −31°F, on January 22, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 47.35 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 74.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00138755; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00138755. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Waukon?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Waukon, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 75% | 2.9 |
| March | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 67% | 1.9 |
| December | 62% | 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 Waukon need?
A normal year in Waukon brings 7,658 heating degree days, 43% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 570 cooling degree days, 37% 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 2,549 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,513 | 0 |
| February | 1,246 | 0 |
| March | 1,018 | 0 |
| April | 601 | 1 |
| May | 286 | 25 |
| June | 51 | 126 |
| July | 11 | 211 |
| August | 23 | 152 |
| September | 155 | 48 |
| October | 512 | 7 |
| November | 915 | 0 |
| December | 1,327 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,658 | 570 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00138755. 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 Waukon been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.0°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.4°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2024 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 48.4°F | +3.0°F | 43.36 |
| 2025 | 46.0°F | +0.6°F | 33.43 |
Over 46 complete years from 1937 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°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 USC00138755; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Waukon's climate compare?
Waukon is warmer than 11 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 116. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.4°F is warmer than 21%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Waukon 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 Waukon share this climate record?
De Soto has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- De Soto, WI326 people · 17 mi NE
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 Waukon's climate
What is the coldest month in Waukon?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Waukon?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Waukon's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Postville (13 miles away), records 40 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Waukon?
June, with 5.92 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.23 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Waukon in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Waukon in zone 5a in ZIP code 52172, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Waukon?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Postville, IA14 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Decorah, IA16 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Lynxville, WI19 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Mabel, MN22 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made