Climate averages 1991–2020
Des Moines weather
in March.
A cool, moderately wet month: the 8th warmest and the 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
March is a cool month in Des Moines: daytime highs average 8.9°C and nights cool to about -1.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 8th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 67 mm of rain on roughly 9 days, which makes March a moderately wet month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 54 min on an average March day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Cedar Rapids (169 km away). In March its highs average 8.0°C, 0.9°C cooler than Des Moines, with 66 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Des Moines ranks joint 386th of 498 for the warmest March highs and joint 205th of 498 for the driest March (rainfall, lowest first). The mean March high of those 498 cities is 14.9°C; Des Moines is 6.0°C cooler than that mean.
From March to April, average highs rise by 6.7°C to 15.6°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 67 mm to 107 mm.
The annual picture
March 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, selected | 8.9°C-1.6°C | -1.6°C | 67 | 8.8 | 11.912 h |
| April | 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
March in nearby cities
- Cedar Rapids in MarchUnited States · 169 kmHigh 8.0°C · Low -2.4°C · 66 mm rain
- Iowa City in MarchUnited States · 173 kmHigh 8.7°C · Low -1.7°C · 69 mm rain
- Omaha in MarchUnited States · 198 kmHigh 9.9°C · Low -1.0°C · 60 mm rain
- Saint Joseph in MarchUnited States · 229 kmHigh 11.3°C · Low 0.9°C · 76 mm rain
- Sioux City in MarchUnited States · 251 kmHigh 8.2°C · Low -2.7°C · 55 mm rain
- Davenport in MarchUnited States · 252 kmHigh 8.9°C · Low -0.9°C · 70 mm rain
- Lincoln in MarchUnited States · 271 kmHigh 10.8°C · Low -0.4°C · 54 mm rain
- Rochester (Minnesota), United States in MarchUnited States · 285 kmHigh 5.1°C · Low -4.3°C · 60 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.