Climate averages 1991–2020
Des Moines weather
in April.
A mild, wet month: the 7th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
April is a mild month in Des Moines: daytime highs average 15.6°C and nights cool to about 5.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 107 mm of rain on roughly 11 days, which makes April a wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 18 min on an average April day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Cedar Rapids (169 km away). In April its highs average 15.0°C, 0.6°C cooler than Des Moines, with 112 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Des Moines ranks joint 345th of 498 for the warmest April highs and joint 393rd of 498 for the driest April (rainfall, lowest first). The mean April high of those 498 cities is 19.4°C; Des Moines is 3.7°C cooler than that mean.
From April to May, average highs rise by 5.7°C to 21.3°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 107 mm to 135 mm.
The annual picture
April in context
Monthly precipitation
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Des Moines climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -1.3°C-10.1°C | -10.1°C | 31 | 6.3 | 9.510 h |
| February | 1.4°C-8.1°C | -8.1°C | 40 | 6.5 | 10.611 h |
| March | 8.9°C-1.6°C | -1.6°C | 67 | 8.8 | 11.912 h |
| April, selected | 15.6°C5.1°C | 5.1°C | 107 | 11.2 | 13.313 h |
| May | 21.3°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 135 | 13.6 | 14.515 h |
| June | 26.5°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 126 | 11.5 | 15.115 h |
| July | 28.7°C19.7°C | 19.7°C | 91 | 9.4 | 14.915 h |
| August | 27.8°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 94 | 9.5 | 13.814 h |
| September | 23.9°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 90 | 8.0 | 12.513 h |
| October | 16.6°C7.5°C | 7.5°C | 71 | 7.8 | 11.111 h |
| November | 8.6°C0.1°C | 0.1°C | 52 | 6.8 | 9.910 h |
| December | 1.5°C-6.5°C | -6.5°C | 41 | 5.9 | 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
April in nearby cities
- Cedar Rapids in AprilUnited States · 169 kmHigh 15.0°C · Low 4.3°C · 112 mm rain
- Iowa City in AprilUnited States · 173 kmHigh 15.5°C · Low 4.9°C · 111 mm rain
- Omaha in AprilUnited States · 198 kmHigh 16.3°C · Low 5.5°C · 104 mm rain
- Saint Joseph in AprilUnited States · 229 kmHigh 17.3°C · Low 7.0°C · 115 mm rain
- Sioux City in AprilUnited States · 251 kmHigh 15.0°C · Low 3.9°C · 101 mm rain
- Davenport in AprilUnited States · 252 kmHigh 15.6°C · Low 5.5°C · 108 mm rain
- Lincoln in AprilUnited States · 271 kmHigh 16.9°C · Low 5.8°C · 92 mm rain
- Rochester (Minnesota), United States in AprilUnited States · 285 kmHigh 12.6°C · Low 2.7°C · 92 mm rain
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 limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Des Moines) is explained once on the Des Moines year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.