Climate averages 1991–2020

Cedar Rapids weather
in January.

A freezing month with light precipitation: the coolest and the driest of the year.

Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.

Average high -2.3°C Daytime mean, January

Average low -11.1°C Night-time mean, January

Precipitation 38 mm 7 days with ≥1 mm

Daylight 9 h Sunrise to sunset, per day

January is a freezing month in Cedar Rapids: daytime highs average -2.3°C and nights cool to about -11.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.

Expect about 38 mm of precipitation on roughly 7 days, which makes January a month with light precipitation (the driest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 30 min on an average January day.

The nearest other city in this atlas is Iowa City (40 km away). In January its highs average -1.5°C, 0.8°C warmer than Cedar Rapids, with 39 mm of precipitation.

Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Cedar Rapids ranks 484th of 498 for the warmest January highs and joint 85th of 498 for the driest January (precipitation, lowest first). The mean January high of those 498 cities is 9.5°C; Cedar Rapids is 11.8°C cooler than that mean.

From January to February, average highs rise by 2.6°C to 0.3°C, and monthly precipitation rises from 38 mm to 42 mm.

The annual picture

January in context

30-year average

Average highAverage low°C

Monthly precipitation

Average total · mm

Averages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated

Every month, side by side

Cedar Rapids climate table

1991–2020

Monthly climate averages for Cedar Rapids, 1991–2020
Month	Average highHigh / low	Average low	Precipitation mm/month	Wet days ≥1 mm/day	Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day
January, selected	-2.3°C-11.1°C	-11.1°C	38	7.0	9.59 h
February	0.3°C-9.0°C	-9.0°C	42	6.4	10.611 h
March	8.0°C-2.4°C	-2.4°C	66	8.6	11.912 h
April	15.0°C4.3°C	4.3°C	112	11.8	13.313 h
May	20.9°C10.9°C	10.9°C	126	13.2	14.515 h
June	25.8°C16.5°C	16.5°C	130	11.9	15.215 h
July	27.7°C18.8°C	18.8°C	100	9.9	14.915 h
August	26.9°C17.8°C	17.8°C	94	9.3	13.914 h
September	23.2°C13.7°C	13.7°C	100	8.4	12.513 h
October	16.0°C7.0°C	7.0°C	73	8.6	11.111 h
November	8.0°C-0.3°C	-0.3°C	59	7.4	9.910 h
December	0.7°C-7.1°C	-7.1°C	46	6.9	9.29 h

Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.

Compare places

January in nearby cities

Distance from Cedar Rapids

Read the numbers correctly

Climate, not a promise.

These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.

Sources, method and limits

How these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Cedar Rapids) is explained once on the Cedar Rapids year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.