Climate averages 1991–2020
Des Moines weather
in May.
A mild, wet month: the 5th warmest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Des Moines: daytime highs average 21.3°C and nights cool to about 11.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 135 mm of rain on roughly 14 days, which makes May a wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 30 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Cedar Rapids (169 km away). In May its highs average 20.9°C, about as warm as Des Moines, with 126 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Des Moines ranks joint 327th of 498 for the warmest May highs and 476th of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Des Moines is 2.5°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 5.2°C to 26.5°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 135 mm to 126 mm.
The annual picture
May 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 | 15.6°C5.1°C | 5.1°C | 107 | 11.2 | 13.313 h |
| May, selected | 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
May in nearby cities
- Cedar Rapids in MayUnited States · 169 kmHigh 20.9°C · Low 10.9°C · 126 mm rain
- Iowa City in MayUnited States · 173 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 11.4°C · 123 mm rain
- Omaha in MayUnited States · 198 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 11.9°C · 139 mm rain
- Saint Joseph in MayUnited States · 229 kmHigh 22.8°C · Low 13.2°C · 143 mm rain
- Sioux City in MayUnited States · 251 kmHigh 21.0°C · Low 10.6°C · 126 mm rain
- Davenport in MayUnited States · 252 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 12.0°C · 119 mm rain
- Lincoln in MayUnited States · 271 kmHigh 22.6°C · Low 12.2°C · 130 mm rain
- Rochester (Minnesota), United States in MayUnited States · 285 kmHigh 19.2°C · Low 9.7°C · 115 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.