Climateby Month

Des Moines, IA climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 872 ft elevation

Des Moines has warm and often humid summers and cold and snowy winters. Highs peak at 86°F in July and fall to 31°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 13 a month. Normal snowfall is about 37 in a year. By our comfort score the best month is May.

Warmest month
86°F
July normal high
Coldest month
14°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
113
36.5 in of precipitation
Snow a year
36.5 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Des Moines?

Normal highs range from 31°F in January to 86°F in July.

0°20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 31°F (-1°C), low 14°F (-10°C) 31° 14° February: normal high 36°F (2°C), low 18°F (-8°C) March: normal high 49°F (9°C), low 30°F (-1°C) April: normal high 62°F (17°C), low 41°F (5°C) May: normal high 72°F (22°C), low 52°F (11°C) June: normal high 82°F (28°C), low 62°F (17°C) July: normal high 86°F (30°C), low 66°F (19°C) 86° 66° August: normal high 84°F (29°C), low 64°F (18°C) September: normal high 77°F (25°C), low 55°F (13°C) October: normal high 63°F (17°C), low 43°F (6°C) November: normal high 48°F (9°C), low 30°F (-1°C) December: normal high 36°F (2°C), low 20°F (-7°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Des Moines?

May has the most wet days (about 13); the year brings about 37 in of precipitation.

January: 8 wet days February: 8 wet days March: 10 wet days April: 12 wet days May: 13 wet days 13 June: 12 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 9 wet days September: 8 wet days October: 9 wet days November: 8 wet days 8 December: 8 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 36.5 in a year, most of it in February.

January: 9.4 in of snow February: 10.2 in of snow 10.2 March: 4.4 in of snow April: 1.2 in of snow May: 0.2 in of snow June: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.5 in of snow November: 2.7 in of snow December: 7.9 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Des Moines?

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 Des Moines International Airport, 5.1 mi SSW of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.2 hours in December to 15.1 hours in June.

January: 9.6 hours of daylight February: 10.6 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.3 hours of daylight May: 14.5 hours of daylight June: 15.1 hours of daylight 15.1 July: 14.8 hours of daylight August: 13.8 hours of daylight September: 12.5 hours of daylight October: 11.1 hours of daylight November: 9.9 hours of daylight December: 9.2 hours of daylight 9.2 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Des Moines, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 31°F14°F 1.1 in8 9.4 in 0 9.6 h
February 36°F18°F 1.3 in8 10.2 in 0 10.6 h
March 49°F30°F 2.2 in10 4.4 in 0 12.0 h
April 62°F41°F 4.0 in12 1.2 in 0 13.3 h
May 72°F52°F 5.2 in13 0.2 in 1 14.5 h
June 82°F62°F 5.3 in12 0.0 in 9 15.1 h
July 86°F66°F 3.8 in10 0.0 in 17 14.8 h
August 84°F64°F 4.2 in9 0.0 in 14 13.8 h
September 77°F55°F 3.2 in8 0.0 in 4 12.5 h
October 63°F43°F 2.8 in9 0.5 in 0 11.1 h
November 48°F30°F 1.9 in8 2.7 in 0 9.9 h
December 36°F20°F 1.6 in8 7.9 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 Des Moines

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 280324
Feb 331419
Mar 49559
Apr 631181
May 711591
Jun 61774
Jul 53369
Aug 55566
Sep 661452
Oct 611251
Nov 42349
Dec 300420

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 Des Moines

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 18, and the first fall frost around Oct 20, leaving 184 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Des Moines
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 18after May 2
First fall frost (32°F)Oct 20before Oct 4
Last hard freeze (28°F)Apr 8after Apr 22
First hard freeze (28°F)Oct 30before Oct 16
Frost-free season184 daysunder 165 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: Des Moines Intl Airport (USW00014933), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Iowa.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 106°F (July 25, 2012); the lowest was -26°F (February 3, 1996).

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

Near Des Moines

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth, frost dates and humidity and wind by hour: Des Moines Intl Airport (USW00014933), 5.1 mi SSW of the city center, 957 ft (85 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Des Moines International Airport (725460-14933), 5.1 mi SSW of the city center, 939 ft (67 ft higher than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.
  • Not available for this location: cloud cover (no station close enough or similar enough in elevation).

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