Climateby Month

Cedar Rapids, IA climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 808 ft elevation

Summers in Cedar Rapids are warm and often humid; winters are cold and snowy. Highs peak at 86°F in July and fall to 30°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 13 a month. Normal snowfall is about 34 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is May.

Warmest month
86°F
July normal high
Coldest month
13°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
117
38.8 in of precipitation
Snow a year
34.3 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Cedar Rapids?

Normal highs range from 30°F in January to 86°F in July.

0°20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 30°F (-1°C), low 13°F (-11°C) 30° 13° February: normal high 35°F (2°C), low 17°F (-8°C) March: normal high 49°F (9°C), low 28°F (-2°C) April: normal high 63°F (17°C), low 38°F (3°C) May: normal high 74°F (23°C), low 50°F (10°C) June: normal high 82°F (28°C), low 60°F (16°C) July: normal high 86°F (30°C), low 63°F (17°C) 86° 63° August: normal high 83°F (28°C), low 61°F (16°C) September: normal high 77°F (25°C), low 53°F (12°C) October: normal high 64°F (18°C), low 42°F (6°C) November: normal high 48°F (9°C), low 29°F (-2°C) December: normal high 35°F (2°C), low 19°F (-7°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Cedar Rapids?

May has the most wet days (about 13); the year brings about 39 in of precipitation.

January: 9 wet days February: 8 wet days 8 March: 10 wet days April: 11 wet days May: 13 wet days 13 June: 12 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 10 wet days September: 9 wet days October: 10 wet days November: 8 wet days December: 9 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 34.3 in a year, most of it in December.

January: 8.7 in of snow February: 8.3 in of snow March: 4.0 in of snow April: 1.5 in of snow May: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 June: 0.0 in of snow July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.6 in of snow November: 2.2 in of snow December: 9.0 in of snow 9.0 JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Cedar Rapids?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 17 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 1 muggy days June: 9 muggy days July: 17 muggy days 17 August: 14 muggy days September: 4 muggy days October: 0 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Eastern Iowa Regional Airport, 9.6 mi SSW of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.2 hours in December to 15.2 hours in June.

January: 9.5 hours of daylight February: 10.6 hours of daylight March: 11.9 hours of daylight April: 13.4 hours of daylight May: 14.6 hours of daylight June: 15.2 hours of daylight 15.2 July: 14.9 hours of daylight August: 13.8 hours of daylight September: 12.5 hours of daylight October: 11.1 hours of daylight November: 9.8 hours of daylight December: 9.2 hours of daylight 9.2 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Cedar Rapids, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 30°F13°F 1.2 in9 8.7 in 0 9.5 h
February 35°F17°F 1.3 in8 8.3 in 0 10.6 h
March 49°F28°F 2.1 in10 4.0 in 0 11.9 h
April 63°F38°F 4.0 in11 1.5 in 0 13.4 h
May 74°F50°F 4.7 in13 0.0 in 1 14.6 h
June 82°F60°F 5.7 in12 0.0 in 9 15.2 h
July 86°F63°F 4.5 in10 0.0 in 17 14.9 h
August 83°F61°F 4.4 in10 0.0 in 14 13.8 h
September 77°F53°F 4.0 in9 0.0 in 4 12.5 h
October 64°F42°F 3.0 in10 0.6 in 0 11.1 h
November 48°F29°F 2.2 in8 2.2 in 0 9.8 h
December 35°F19°F 1.7 in9 9.0 in 0 9.2 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Cedar Rapids

By our comfort score, the best month is May.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 270426
Feb 320420
Mar 48459
Apr 651281
May 721691
Jun 61894
Jul 55467
Aug 57664
Sep 661462
Oct 611261
Nov 41359
Dec 280422

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Cedar Rapids

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 28, and the first fall frost around Oct 12, leaving 166 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Cedar Rapids
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 28after May 13
First fall frost (32°F)Oct 12before Sep 29
Last hard freeze (28°F)Apr 17after May 2
First hard freeze (28°F)Oct 22before Oct 8
Frost-free season166 daysunder 144 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Cedar Rapids #1 (USC00131319), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Iowa.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 105°F (July 25, 2012); the lowest was -33°F (January 16, 2009).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Cedar Rapids

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth and frost dates: Cedar Rapids #1 (USC00131319), 4.0 mi NE of the city center, 813 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Cedar Rapids Muni Airport (USW00014990), 9.4 mi SSW of the city center, 868 ft (60 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Eastern Iowa Regional Airport (725450-14990), 9.6 mi SSW of the city center, 840 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error